The Grimdark 6 Vol Two: Broken Beast
by SuperSaiyanDiclonius
Summary: After helping to rebuild Ponyville, Fluttershy goes to feed the animals in her Sanctuary. Only to find a new resident, one covered in horrendous scars that tell a sad tale of abuse.
1. Chapter 1 Abused Animal

**_Chapter 1_****_: An Abused Animal_**

Fluttershy panted the whole way to her Sanctuary, rebuilding had only just begun, and yet so much had been accomplished.

The ruined homes have been repaired, barring Sweet Apple Acres, and the ponies that were cured of Swamp Fever were intergrating well with Ponyville.

Fluttershy was the most helpful in the latter, she and Pinkie Pie learned the identity, special talent, and in Pinkie Pie's case, favorite foods and birthdays of every new resident.

In all the excitement, and the terror prior, Fluttershy had neglected checking on her Sanctuary. It was far enough away that she wasn't _too_ worried that they had been attacked, but she hadn't fed her animals all day, having been called away from doing so by Twilight when...the _war_ started.

She hated thinking about it, but ignoring it won't make it go away. Any belief that Luna and the new PDF could keep the Daemons out of Equestria was gone...Equestria was at war...a _real_ war...the likes of which they have not seen in over a thousand years.

Fluttershy knew that a great and terrible change had come, and that it was still happening and would for awhile as Equestria and it's allies grew accustomed to the new normal...waiting for the next attack.

But right now Fluttershy _really_ needed to tend to her animals, not just for their needs, but also for her own. She needed to do something normal while it was still normal.

She was slightly pulled from her thoughts when she heard the familiar _boing boing_ of Angel. She knew that he was going to be upset with her for not having eaten yet, but the normality of such a thing actually made Fluttershy anticipate it.

He came up to her and started hopping around frantically, chittering at her so fast that she couldn't understand him, but she knew that he was yelling at her. "I'm sorry I'm late Angel... I was busy with something important."

This caused the small rabbit to get even more frustrated, but Fluttershy tuned him out until his temper tantrum was mere background noise.

No damage had been done to the Sanctuary, They had been too far away, but it would appear that most of the animals were hiding...Probably frightened by the sounds of ponies dying.

Angel still jumped around her in an attempt to get her attention. She sighed as she persisted in her journey to the food pantry. Eventually he would give up and just wait for her to feed him after he was too tired to jump around anymore. Such was their routine.

Fluttershy came to an abrupt halt when something absolutely _foul_ made itself known to her nose. The stench almost drew what little she's had to eat from her stomach in an instant.

_Oh, I see you've met him._ Fluttershy finally turned her attention to Angel, who had stopped hopping around her.

"Huh, met who?" Fluttershy asked, realizing that Angel had actually been trying to tell her something _important_ this whole time.

Angel rolled his eyes. _Just come with me._

Fluttershy didn't need to follow Angel, her nose was leading her along in a far more painful manner than the rabbit ever had.

Along the way, she finally found her animal friends. They were hiding. Something had spooked them, and it was something _inside_ the Sanctuary

A terrifying thought came to the pegasus' mind. Could it be another enemy? It was plausible, but none of the servants of Chaos that attacked them had smelled like this.

Finally, she and Angel came to the center of the Sanctuary...and she saw it.

It was an ape of some kind, not quite as big as a gorilla, but _much_ bigger than a chimpanzee.

It was also green, almost like a plant. But what drew Fluttershy's attention was it's teeth. They protruded from it's lower jaw in a manner similar to a Diamond Dog's, but they were _much_ bigger.

It was hard to make out much else, considering that it was leaning against a tree in the shade, it was only a single hand exposed to the sun that showed her it's skin color.

"Oh my, have you ever seen anything like him before?" Fluttershy asked Angel, who scowled at her.

_Oh, of course I have. I just kept him hidden on a raft of flowers floating in a lake of air-freshener ON THE OTHER SIDE OF EQUESTRIA!!!_

Fluttershy immediately knew that if this ape wasn't an agent of Chaos, which she highly doubted, but a creature looking to stay in her Sanctuary, then Angel was going to be problematic.

With a weary sigh, Fluttershy moved to investigate the strange creature.

Fluttershy had to fight for every step forward. That smell was horrendous. She didn't know why it smelled like that, and she _prayed_ that it wasn't a natural musk. But that would wait until another time. For now, she had made it.

"Um, excuse me." Fluttershy said to get the ape's attention.

It turned to her, revealing red, serpentlike eyes... But their physical appearance meant nothing to her.

Fluttershy brought a hoof to her mouth and felt tears building up behind her own eyes. The ape's eyes were _empty_, there was no emotion behind them...and she had seen it before.

Abuse. A rare but existing problem, even in Equestria. Fluttershy had earned a few enemies among circus owners and Canterlot nobles for the inexcusable way they treated their pets and the legal battles she had fought to save them.

Most ponies only see the visible wounds on a creature's hide, but Fluttershy can see the worst of their scars through their eyes.

Most learned to fear ponies, and Fluttershy would release them into the wild immediately after healing them.

Others developed a deep-seated hatred for ponykind that hopefully, but not often, mellowed out over time...but this.

When Fluttershy looked into the eyes of this ape, she saw a creature that had given up. It didn't hate her, it didn't fear her, it was just going to wait until she was finished doing whatever she planned to do, even if it killed him...he may have even hoped for that, but had given up asking.

Even in spite of it's smell, Fluttershy lunged at the ape. It closed it's eyes in acceptance of it's fate, only to open them again when he realized that Fluttershy was hugging him.

"Oh, you poor thing I am _so_ sorry." Fluttershy managed to say before she burst into tears.

The creature was confused, but then a face of sad recognition came upon him. He said nothing to explain this, not that Fluttershy noticed the face to begin with, he just let the pegasus do as she pleased. It didn't matter to him, he was used to it by now.

Eventually, Fluttershy came to her senses. She wasn't making her guest feel any better, and feeling sorry for him wasn't going to change what had happened to him.

Fluttershy removed herself from the ape and dried her tears. "I'm... I'm sorry about that, I just- ahem- My name is Fluttershy. This Sanctuary is a safe place, and you are more than welcome to stay as long as you like. You're safe here."

The ape's eyes didn't change one bit, but it gave a slow nod that it understood, not necessarily agreed, but understood.

"Um, Are you hungry? I've got plenty of food." Fluttershy said, gesturing in the direction of the Food Pantry.

Once more, Fluttershy was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Angel's approach. This time, it wasn't as welcome.

Fluttershy turned to face the furious bunny, who undoubtedly pieced together that the ape was staying, and prepared to defend her new guest, and herself, from the rabbit's wrath.

However, as soon as he stopped, Angel's anger gave way to shock._WOAH! Yeah, he's staying._

He didn't sound happy about it, but he understood that arguing was pointless. However, Fluttershy hadn't used the Stare on him, and he wasn't even looking at her.

Fluttershy turned around...and her heart sank again.

The ape had stepped out of the shade, revealing himself to be covered head to toe with various scars, from blade wounds to burn marks to the imprints of barbed chains on his arms.

Fluttershy couldn't comprehend it, even Equestria's worst villains weren't capable of such cruelty...expect one.

The astartes. The trans-human monsters that had attacked them alongside the zombiefied ponies and rogue dragons. Could this ape have been a slave to them? It was the only explanation that she could think of.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she realized that there was something attached to the ape. It was...a sticky note?

"Hmm? What's this?" Fluttershy asked out loud so the ape wouldn't be startled when she reached for him and removed the note.

_Dear Fluttershy._

_I was in the middle of entertaining a guest when this poor lost soul drifted into my realm from parts unknown, and I just knew that if anypony could help him, it would be you. Best of luck._

_Discord._

Well, at least that explains how he got here. Fluttershy put the note aside and went on to feeding the animals, starting with her new charge.

Fluttershy led the ape to her Food Pantry and unlocked the door. "I don't really know what you eat, but feel free to pick anything you like."

The ape looked into the pantry, hesitant to go inside. Fluttershy realized that he thought it was a trap.

"Oh, it's perfectly safe. See?" Fluttershy walked into the pantry and grabbed a jar of cookies. She then opened the jar and took a cookie for herself to show the ape that they were safe to eat.

Fluttershy then handed the jar to the ape, who hesitantly took it. He slowly picked up a cookie and put it into his mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing.

If he liked it or didn't, he gave no sign. He just handed the jar back.

"Huh, are you sure? You seem pretty big to just eat one cookie." Fluttershy said. She already knew that he believed that he was only allowed one, but she didn't want to tell him to eat more because she wanted him to feel independent.

It worked. The ape took the whole jar back to the tree she found him at and sat back down.

Smiling to herself at the baby step, Fluttershy finally got to work feeding the rest of her animal friends.

**_Author's Note: _**

And so it begins.

To start off. Yes, I know I said I was going to fix Vol. 1 before starting Vol. 2. But the longer I waited, the more ideas came into my brain. Especially after a bold YouTuber risked his channel to let me see the series finale early. (No spoilers until a public release)

I'm still going to fix Vol. 1 eventually, but I _really_ wanted to write this.

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the actual chapter and (vaguely) my plans for the future.

To those of you who haven't figured it out. Yes, it's an Ork.

However, Fluttershy is incorrect in the assumption that it was a slave to Chaos.

For the true answer, look no further than my YouTube page where I posted a video specifically for this.

And now for how accurately am I going to follow the canon for season 9. Well, for starters, even if we take all of their worst moments from every episode, there is simply no way the Royal Sisters would be irresponsible enough to pass the torch at the beginning of a war, so that's not happening. But of course, you're all interested in Grogar.

Yes, the legion of doom is still gonna happen, though Chrysalis will be a bit more unstable on account of the events of last volume. However I will derail from the plot with an alternate ending to Frenemies, which you will see when you see it. (Gotta keep some surprises)

And of course, Luna and the PDF will still be defending the Dream Realm from the forces of Chaos. I'm contemplating whether or not if this will keep Aries out of the fight against Sombra. However, another thing is that since Aries (along with this Ork and 4 other characters) will be inheriting the Elements of Harmony, Sombra will _not_ destroy them. I may have them destroyed later by a 40k enemy but that's a few volumes away.

Okay, that's all I got. Once again, I will be trying for weekly updates, but...life.


	2. Chapter 2: The Devil You Know

**_Chapter 2:The Devil You Know_**

"You may call me..._Grogar_." The large goat, obviously in service of the Ruinous Powers, declared to the assembled villains.

Chrysalis couldn't keep the shock from her voice. "_The_ Grogar?!" It was a shared sentiment, Tirek and King Sombra holding the same knowledge of the first emperor, but Chrysalis barely heard them.

It made sense, if anycreature was capable of undoing what was done to her then it was him, but the fact that he served _them_ unnerved her.

She could still feel it. The horrid sensation of her chitin and flesh being warped and twisted into unnatural shapes, all because she casted the summoning spell 5 seconds early.

Now, she couldn't help but feel that she and these others were being gathered for a sacrifice.

"Oh, I assure you. I am very real. And I gathered you all here as part of my plan for getting rid of Twilight Sparkle and friends. Once and for all." Grogar explained, complimenting the speech with a traditional evil laugh.

"But is it _your_ plan?" All eyes fell to Chrysalis as she glared accusingly at the goat.

"I was tricked into following their plans as well..." Chrysalis contiued, pointing a hoof at the Star of Chaos dangling from Grogar's neck.

"...And the minute something went wrong...you saw what they did to me." Chrysalis concluded, earning shudders from the other villains as they recalled the Chaos Horror and imagined what they assumed such a thing would feel like.

"Hmph, you would do well not to compare my capabilities to yours. But if that's your concern..." Grogar closed his eyes. As he did so, his Star began to glow with the colors of the Warp.

A few seconds later, three Daemons: one that Chrysalis recognized as the one that taught her the spell, one that had blood red skin and a flaming sword, and one that somehow seemed pleasant and painful to look at at the same time, were pulled from rips in reality and sealed within the Star.

"There. The Daemons still amuck in Equestria have been sealed away along with the one who thought he could deceive me. Are you satisfied?" Grogar asked of the Changeling.

Far from it. The fact that he overpowered those beings so quickly only put Chrysalis more on edge, but she knew that if he was that powerful, there wasn't anything she could do.

Grogar took her silence as an answer. "Good. Now then, it is true that the Ruinous Powers are more concerned with destroying Equestria than conquering it. Which is why I will be relying on their assistance sparingly...rather than blindly jumping into the first opportunity to make a fool of myself."

Chrysalis was about to retort, but it was Tirek who spoke up first. "And why should you keep all their power to yourself?"

"Because I'm the only one who knows how to control the powers of Chaos rather than letting them control me. But don't worry, there is plenty of power to be had." With this, Grogar extracted some of his own essence and blew it like a dandelion towards Tirek.

The centaur greedily devoured the energy and immediately grew three times bigger.

Satisfied for the moment, Tirek retreated to having a private with the pegasus filly, who didn't seem to know who Grogar was.

Chrysalis was all but convinced that the pony was only present to be a sacrifice later...but the thought was immediately lost.

Just behind the centaur and the filly, Chrysalis saw movement. Whatever it was was gone before she could get a good look at it, but something about it's frame seemed familiar...she could've sworn she had seen three creatures of similar appearance after casting the summoning spell, though it was hard to remember...considering the state she had been in.

As Chrysalis turned from the possible hallucination, it would seem that Grogar was having a disagreement with King Sombra. "I don't do 'ours', I only do _MINE!_ I will take back the Crystal Empire on my own! And _I_ will destroy anypony who gets in _my_ way."

Grogar merely smirked at the defiance. "Such confidence. Go. Try to take back your kingdom. I shall send you there myself. If you prevail, you may keep it."

It is at this point that the smirk disappeared. "But when you fail, you will submit to me."

Sombra was unimpressed. "And if I refuse this...deal?"

"Then I shall return you back to the darkness from whence you were summoned." Grogar replied.

"Fine." Sombra agreed without hesitation. "But this is a waist of time. I shall defeat all who get in my way. I shall crush those who defy me. I-" Any further monologuing was silenced as Grogar sent Sombra from his sight, and more importantly, his hearing.

The goat then looked to the other three. "I advise the rest of you to prepare to work together." And then he was gone.

Chrysalis and Tirek looked to each before the filly flew up to hover between them. "Well, working together sounds an awful lot like making friends. So you two are in luck because I know all about that."

Chrysalis was about to put the fear of the reaper into the foolish pony, but found it unnecessary as Tirek sent her flying with a flick of his finger. "Okay, you seem to be familiar with that pony. Would you mind explaining: What in the Hive's name is she doing here outside of chains?"

Tirek scoffed in amusement at the changeling's confusion. "Don't let her looks fool you. She's just as power hungry as you or I. Are you familiar with that incident 7 months ago where magic started to disappear from Equestria?"

Chrysalis' eyes almost popped out of her head. She had nearly had a heart attack that day. "Are you suggesting that filly had something to do with it?"

"Not something..." Tirek answered. "..._everything_. And she had tricked Twilight Sparkle and her friends into investigating my possible involvment, since stealing magic is my thing, and trapped them in Tartarus. She was thwarted by the honor role students at Twilight's 'School of Friendship', though if you ask her to tell you, she'll say the Tree of Harmony itself undid her plans. Hmph, kids. But enough about that. What the hay happened to _you_?"

Chrysalis took a step back. It was obvious what Tirek was talking about.

"Yeah, I'm curious too." Said the filly, who had recovered from her involuntary flight. "I mean, I know changing shape is kind of your thing, but that seemed...wrong."

Chrysalis sat on her haunches and let out a breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding. "How much have you two been told of Grogar's...power?"

"You mean the _ruinous power_ he referred to?" Tirek asked.

"Yes, but it's not a ruinous power. He was referring to _the_ ruinous power, The Ruinous Powers of Chaos Undivided. From what I understand, they are the foil of the Elements of Harmony, representing Despair, Hatred, Ambition, and Desire." Chrysalis explained.

This got the other villains attention...through Chrysalis quickly de-romantisized them. "And trying to use that power backfired horrendously. Grogar's right, sparingly is the only way to use such power, if at all. You can't trust the Dark Gods."

She could tell that they weren't as excited, but they were still curious. "Did you just say...Dark Gods?"

"Yes. I wasn't told much. Only that each of these Gods represents one of the Ruinous Powers. Considering we're talking about villains as arrogant as us, if not more so, I doubt that they're any more impressive than Twilight Sparkle and her friends...though if I ever get my hooves on Tzeentch, I'll make sure he knows _exactly_ what that felt like." The others didn't need to know what 'that' was, they could still hear the cracks as her bones broke and reformed.

"Zeench? Hmm, I don't know of anycreature that would have a name like that." The filly stated.

"Indeed. Not even the beings of my homeland had such names." Tirek replied.

"Well whatever he is, he's the Dark God of Ambition. He's also known as the Archetect of Fate or The Changer of Ways. He claims that every plan is his and that all living things have a part to play in his schemes...and he's the one who sent that Daemon to give me the spell that rebounded on me and transformed me into that _thing_." Chrysalis snarled in anger.

"Interesting. Your personal history with him aside, I think I can stand to admire this 'Zeench'." Tirek stated.

Chrysalis arched an eyebrow. "Actually, considering how your plans all revolve around increasing your muscle mass, I'd say you're more aligned with Slaanesh: The Dark God of Desire."

Tirek thought about it, and shrugged in agreement.

The three villains contiued their conversation, completely unaware that they were being watched.

Grogar narrowed his eyes at Chrysalis. Her experience had changed her, for better or worse was yet to be determined.

"You didn't need her, you know?" Spoke a voice behind the goat.

Grogar turned to face the Heads of the Hydra that came up behind him. He knew them by the names of their fathers: Alpharius and Omegon. They always called each other by one or the other, and always acted as though Grogar spoke to the wrong one if he didn't keep up with the trading of their names.

They only way to tell which one was which was the different colors of their armor, though knowing the Alpha Legion, there were probably days when they traded armor instead of names and days where they traded armor _and_ names.

"Maybe not Alpharius, but then again. She may be exactly what we need for our plans." Grogar replied.

"Hmm, it's possible, I suppose... also, I'm Omegon." The astartes replied.

Grogar rolled his eyes. 'Omegon' was wearing the blue and green armor today while Alpharius wore the green and blue, and even these differences to the armor weren't so great, as the green was a bluish green anf the blue was a greenish blue. In fact, the only true difference was that one of them appeared to be a set of loyalist armor while the other sported a set of horns and Chaotic symbols...the armors were repainted daily.

"So, would any of you care to place a wager on how long it takes the ponies to defeat Sombra?" Grogar asked.

"You know..." Began Alpharius. "...I don't think they will." Concluded Omegon.

Grogar couldn't keep the surprise from his face. "You actually think that fool has a chance?"

This got a laugh from the Space Marines. "Oh no no no, we just wonder..." Omegon started. "...what chance has a master of fear..." Continued Alpharius. "...against one who has no fear." They both concluded.

**_Author's Note:_**

Oh boy, plans within plans have been set into motion. But who are the puppets, and who are the puppeteers?

So, next chapter is going to be Sombra's attack on the Crystal Empire, and as stated before: I plan to keep the Elements in this story for a few volumes more.

Also, I'm going to try and get the next chapter out this weekend... and go on a 2-4 week hiatus.

The reason: while I won't spoil the series finale, I will say that I, as an individual, found it wanting, and thus: intend to write an alternate ending that I will post the day after the series finale goes public.

So if the next chapter doesn't drop for awhile, you know why.

Also, shoutout to The Reaper of Valhalla: one of my readers.

The FF app is bugged, and thus: any PMs I try to send will go through, but will never be read.

So, in reply to your review: Thank you for your support and I appreciate the lengths you went to in order to get the most out of my story.

Okay, that's all I got, see you next time


	3. Chapter 3: Sombra's Shadow

**_Chapter 3: Sombra's Shadow_**

Tempest Shadow stepped off the train onto the Crystal Empire station. She had been in Klugetown, cracking down on the thieves and slavers that frequent the lawless desert town, when word reached her that Equestria was going to war.

Tempest was sceptical about the claim, considering how swiftly most threats were dealt with, and how she couldn't imagine something worse than the Storm King, but she nonetheless answered the summons.

After arriving in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had requested that she meet with the leader of the 'Planetary Defense Force' to receive her orders. The fact that a planet wide alliance had been deemed necessary did nothing to help Tempest's worry, especially after Celestia informed her that Ponyville had been attacked and suffered over a hundred casualties.

The leader of the PDF was currently in the Crystal Empire, meeting with Twilight's brother, and so Tempest had come to report to this 'Aries'.

She had been told that another unicorn would meet her at the station. And after looking around for a few seconds, she found a pony matching his description: white coat, black mane and beard, dressed in uniform and appearing unfriendly at first glance, and second...and third.

Tempest approached the pony and hailed him. "Excuse me, are you Chancellor Neighsay?"

The unicorn looked at her with judgmental eyes. "Yes. And you are Fizzlepop Berrytwist, formerly known as Tempest Shadow, correct?"

Tempest raised an eyebrow at the pony's tone. "Yes. Though only Twilight and her friends are permitted to use my real name, so you will call me Tempest."

"A fitting name for a traitor. I will tell you right now that I do not share Twilight's haste for forgiveness, though in light of recent events, your services will prove necessary...for now." Neighsay declared.

Tempest wasn't too surprised. "Princess Celestia told me about you...and how your prejudice caused you to oppose her student in regards to her treatment of nonponies."

Neighsay's scowl softened for a half second before returning tenfold. "The incident with Cozy Glow has humbled me in that regard, but there is a difference between giving an unfamiliar creature a chance to betray you or befriend you, and giving a traitor a chance to betray you _again_."

Tempest took the accusation in stride. Honestly, it's what she expected from Twilight and the others. "Fair enough Chancellor. Please escort me to this Aries so I may remove myself from your presence."

Neighsay gave a swift, sharp nod and started walking. Tempest following at his side.

Silence reigned for the first 15 minutes, the two unicorns finding an almost unequestrian comfort in silence, before Tempest sacrificed comfort for duty. "Tell me Chancellor, what do you know of this Aries? I assume that he is not a pony, given his name."

If Neighsay was annoyed by the end of the silence, he gave no sign. "Certainly not. I believe he refers to himself as an 'astartes'. To put it simply, he is a warrior from another universe, and his enemies seek to destroy Equestria and the Elements of Harmony with it."

The only thing that shocked Tempest was the mention of another universe. Twilight had once told her of Sunset Shimmer, Celestia's wayward student, could she have some connection with this astartes, or was it a completely different other universe.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about him?" Tempest asked.

"I have not seen him myself, but from what I've heard, he is an eight foot tall bipedal knight who wears white and blue armor with the insignia of his 'legion' marking one of his shoulders, and a sword that is empowered by the legendary Alicorn Amulet...a gift from Princess Luna." Neighsay explained.

"The Alicorn Amulet!? That's-" Whatever Tempest was about to say was lost in an explosion in the distance. The two unicorns ceasing their conversation immediately as they ran to investigate.

_Elsewhere_

Sombra smiled sadistically as the ponies of the Crystal Empire fled in every direction, as they should. The smile disappeared as a spear landed near him, missing it's mark due to lack of practice.

Sombra turned to the Crystal Guards with clear annoyance. Weaker beings were supposed to run from him, consumed by terror, _not_ charge him with hearts full of zeal and courage.

Sombra waited for the fools to close in before summoning a large crystal of frozen darkness beneath his hooves, riding it to ascend beyond the reach of those beneath him, who were sent flying by the emergence of the large stalagmite.

Before they could recover, Sombra appeared before the stunned warriors and fitted them both with helmets forged from shadows. The eyes of the helmets glowing green as the Crystal Guards became trapped in their darkest fears and were made into King Sombra's puppets.

As Sombra began to march forward, his new honor guard flanking him, he heard the telltale sign of a lightning based magical attack coming towards him.

He turned and formed a shield. The ball of lightning struck it and exploded, forming a small crater and lighting nearby houses on fire.

Tempest Shadow was already charging up another attack. She had advised Neighsay to focus on shielding them, something that she could not do.

Sombra. She had heard stories of the dark unicorn, but hadn't been inclined to believe them.

But that was then, and this is now. Sombra was real in this moment, and if she allowed the belief that such a thing were impossible to consume her mind, then Equestria would suffer for her inaction.

"Hmph. Take care of them." Sombra said to his guards, who charged with their spears.

They were a pegasus and an Earth Pony. They each relied on their spears and training in hoof to hoof combat. Tempest would applaud their courage for facing the Dark Lord after they woke up.

Lightning poured forth from her shattered horn, not enough to kill, but enough to render the two brainwashed ponies unconscious.

Sombra rolled his eyes. "How typical of weaklings. Though at least they proved that I actually need to put effort into crushing you."

"Come on and try it." Tempest snarled as she unleashed another electrical typhoon at the False King.

Sombra raised another crystal as a shield. The crystal exploded into shards that peppered Neighsay's shield. When the dust cleared, Sombra was gone.

"Keep your shield up. There's no way he's done with us yet." Tempest warned Neighsay, who gave a silent nod in reply.

The silence between them was interrupted when several smaller crystals surrounded them, their tips breaking on the shield.

Tempest didn't know what Sombra's plan was, but she had no interest in letting him have his way. She roared in defiance as she blasted the crystals and destroyed them all one by one...until she couldn't.

"Whu-what's happening?" Tempest asked no one in particular as her magic started to be repelled.

"I've heard of this. Sombra's crystals can form an impenetrable barrier if they surround one like so. He's trapped us." Neighsay snarled in anger as he realized that they had been trapped.

"He's going after Princess Cadence. He has to be. We've got a find a way out of here before-" Tempest stopped dead.

Upon realizing that they had been trapped, she and Chancellor Neighsay had unknowingly came to the same conclusion, 'he's caught us, and thus, isn't after us' and let their guard down.

Sombra appeared behind them and slammed a helmet onto each of them. The minute he did, Tempest watched her magic run out control as lightning shot out and electrocuted Twilight and her friends, the royal sisters, and her old friends from foal hood.

She tried to stop it by pressing her hooves to her broken horn, but the lightning burned through her hooves until they were naught but charred stumps. And all Tempest could do was watch as she destroyed Equestria.

It wasn't much better for Neighsay. He saw the races of nonponies betray his trust, mock him for his foolishness, and lay siege to Equestria under the banner of the Princess of Friendship who had betrayed them all.

Everywhere he looked, ponies screamed at him for letting this happen. He should've known better, he never should've trusted nonponies and those who sympathize with their misbegotten kind.

Only two things were similar between these visions, they had failed Equestria, and their fears consumed them.

Sombra smirked with his head held high and his nose turned up as he continued towards the castle, _his_ castle.

_Elsewhere_

"Come on Twilight, we need you." Cadence said as she wrote the final words in her letter and sent it to her sister-in-law. Shining Armor stood at her side with Flurry Heart, he would've been ordering troops into place...but he had given that task to someone more experienced.

As if thoughts of him summoned him forth, the doors to the throne room opened up to accommodate the War Hound astartes known as Aries.

Cadence would be lying if she said the warrior didn't unnerve her. He strode towards the royal family in armor lighter than plastic yet stronger than steel, the core of which was painted a pale cobalt blue, while the pauldrons, kneecaps, helmet, and the strange bulky backpack were bone white.

The helmet was removed, mag-locked to his thigh, just below his sword. Revealing the grotesque scar that locked his face in a primal snarl.

The warrior from another world had frightened Cadence when he arrived, but now that Sombra had somehow escaped from the Ether, she was grateful for such a being to stand between her loved ones and a power-mad tyrant.

Aries brought his fist to his chest in a warrior's salute. "I have positioned your soldiers in preparation for the enemy. All we can do now is wait for him to seal his fate."

The War Hound said this not as a boast but as a fact. Cadence envied his confidence. He didn't even know who Sombra was or what he could do, and yet he envisioned himself victorious.

"As grateful as I am for your assistance. I must warn you not to underestimate King Sombra. He wields power over his opponent's mind, and will force you to face your deepest fears." Cadence warned the Space Marine.

Aries did not scoff at the information, he only nodded in understanding. "Space Marines have no fear. Such is what I believed...until my brothers turned their backs on the Emperor, and my father with them. I died and endured a thousand hells for ten thousand years, if there are any fears left in me that I have not faced. I invite this bastard to teach them to me."

"Language please." Shining Armor hissed through clenched teeth with his hooves over Flurry Hearts ears. "She's just learning to speak."

"Ma~ma." The foal cried out. Stretching her hooves towards Cadence.

The Alicorn laughed at how quickly the tension left the room while Aries shook his head as if to say 'ponies'.

The humorous moment was gone in an instant as the sounds of battle were heard beyond the door, which had closed after Aries' entrance.

The War Hound took his helmet, fashioned very much like a knight's, from his thigh and placed it upon his head, the glass eyes lighting up an ember color.

He then drew his sword, Warp Eater, which had been forged for him at the request of Princess Luna with the guard, shaped like a two headed eagle with a snarling hound on its center, having been forged around the legendary Alicorn Amulet and the blade itself having been forged as a mixture of Equestrian steel and magic enhancing crystals that, at the flick of a switch, clothe the blade in the Amulet's power.

It is when Aries did just that, bathing the steel blade in a menacing crimson glow, that Cadence realized his intent. "ARIES WAIT!!"

The War Hound turned his head slightly, not taking his eyes from the door. "I have no interest in prisoners."

"I understand that, and Sombra is not the sort of being to accept forgiveness, but those that follow him in battle will be brainwashed ponies, the guards that are fighting him right now. Defeating Sombra will set them free. Do not kill needlessly." Cadence explained.

Aries turned back to face the door completely. "If they are not Psykers, then they not dangerous enough to kill."

Cadence didn't know what a Psyker was, but she would take what she could get.

The sounds of battle grew closer and louder. Flurry Heart began to fuss as the noise and tension began to upset her. Cadence and Shining Armor gritted their teeth. And through it all, Aries remained calm and composed...as a World Eater, he would've had to fight against the Butcher's Nails for such a state, but now he only felt phantom pains as his mind told him that he should be feeling what was no longer there to feel.

The sounds of battle ended, giving way to a tense silence, the calm before the storm, before the doors to the throne room exploded off their hinges.

Shining Armor formed a shield around himself and his family while Aries endured the barrage of dust and shrapnel, undaunted.

From the dust came the Crystal Guard, bearing helmets of wicked design. Aries deactivated Warp Eater's power field and struck them in the head with the flat end of the blade.

Some of the possessed guardsponies moved past the War Hound to engage Cadence and Shining Armor, who defended themselves with amped up versions of a lullaby spell they use to help Flurry Heart sleep, the increased power rendering the guards unconscious.

Sombra walked into the throne room confidently, Neighsay and Tempest at his flanks. He was completely expecting the first wave to have already been defeated, but he wasn't expecting the 8 foot bipedal knight that was barreling towards him.

With a gesture, his honor guard moved to intercept. Upon seeing one's horn and the other's stump that was sparking with immaterial power, Aries reactivated Warp Eater.

Seeing this, Cadence quickly shouted for Shining Armor to stay with Flurry Heart before teleporting between the combatants and engaging the possessed unicorns. "I'LL HOLD THEM OFF! YOU DEAL WITH SOMBRA!"

Aries never broke stride. As soon as he was in range, he swung for the dark unicorn's neck.

Sombra raised a crystal beneath his feet, only to cry out in surprise when he started to fall.

Sombra became a shadow and solidified on his hooves behind his new foe and the crystal that he had cut in half.

Snarling in anger at the insolence of this creature, Sombra tried to trap him in a crystal cage.

Aries turned, located Sombra, and charged. Crystals sprang up around him, but he put his shoulder forward and charged right through them, shattering them like glass.

Sombra shot a beam of dark magic at the War Hound, but it was deflected by Warp Eater. In a last ditch effort, Sombra roared in defiance and blasted the astartes with a wave of power that saw him consumed.

Aries shook the daze from his eyes. The first thing he saw was Ponyville ablaze.

_That's it,_ this_ is my greatest fear?_Aries thought to himself. Admittedly, he would be disappointed if he failed his self given mission after coming so far, but wasn't _afraid_ of it.

He was torn from his thoughts by a nearby scream. He turned and saw Fluttershy being disemboweled by a chainsword wielded by a World Eater.

The Traitor Marine turned toward Aries and charged. Aries drew Warp Eater and activated the power field.

The World Eater struck, but Aries parried him easily and stabbed him, burying Warp Eater in the twin hearts...of a Space Wolf.

Aries did a double take. He was certain that he had been fighting a traitor, and yet a loyalist laid dead at his feet.

"TRAITOR!!" Aries turned to the accusation and found himself facing a horde. Dark Angels, Iron Hands, Space Wolves, Imperial Fists and more were all charging towards him.

"NO! COUSINS WAIT! IT WAS A MISTAKE!!!" Aries pleaded, but it was hopeless. They fell upon him like a pack of rabid dogs. Beating him and stripping him of his armor and weapon.

Aries was then bound and gagged and dragged through a burning Equestria all the way to Canterlot.

At the castle of two sisters, Aries was made to kneel beside Celestia, Luna, and Twilight. They awaited execution by beheading, the death of criminals.

From seemingly out of nowhere, the Emperor himself came into view. Clad in Golden armor and wielding a sword that held the power of a sun and commanded a million more.

The Lord of Mankind addressed the gathered Space Marines**_."We were meant to perish in the fires of the Horus Heresy. Before that, we were to perish in the silent darkness of Old Night. And before that, mankind was condemned to death a thousand times over by Alien Tyrants and Thirsting Gods. And every single time, we have risen from the ashes stronger than before."_**

Cheers arose from the gathered astartes before the Emperor raised his taloned hand for silence and continued. **_"_****_Now, after countless years and enough blood to replace every planet's oceans, the last Xenos world has been purged." _**He then points his sword to Aries. **_"And the last traitor faces _****_retribution."_**

Cheers rose and fell, and then one by one, the Alicorns were brought before the Emperor and executed.

They begged and pleaded, insisting that they meant no harm and had only wanted to help, but it all fell on deaf ears.

After they were beheaded by the Emperor's holy blade, their heads were placed on pikes in celebration of Mankind's final victory against the Xenos. And then it was Aries' turn.

Aries racked his brain for something, anything that could prove that he wasn't a traitor, that he hadn't defended the Xenos from Mankind's right for dominance over the galaxy, but there was nothing. He would die a traitor's death, such was his fate.

He was pushed to his knees before the Emperor, only just managing to look him in the eye.The Emperor cut the gag from his face. **_"Any last words heretic?"_**

"...Ave Imperator." Aries said as he accepted his fate. The sword rose...and then it fell.

_Elsewhere_

"Ahhahahaha, So much for your champion. I will put him to good use when I set my sights on Canterlot. But for now, I think you will feel..his wrath...first." Sombra's threat petered out, and Cadence knew why, because she felt it too.

Fear. Not the sort of fear that Sombra controls, but the sort that a pony feels when they stare into the eye of a manticore, or when they find themselves beneath the shadow of a Hydra, or when a sleeping Ursa Major stops snoring. There were a million examples of this kind of fear, and ponies only felt it when they were in the presence of something _dangerous_.

All eyes drifted to Aries, whose eyes locked onto King Sombra. "...How...dare...you..."

Sombra took a step back. "W-well, I-it seems that your will is stronger than most. I'll *ulp* I-I'll just have to put more power behind it, or you could just surrender."

There was a silent pause as no creature moved, and then Aries struck like a bolt of lightning.

Sombra threw every Crystal, Shadow, and Dark Spell that he could, but the War Hound didn't even slow down. Cadence could only think of one word to describe him, a word she would never say in front of Flurry Heart.

He.

Was.

**_Peeved._**

_Elsewhere_

Chrysalis was still regaling her new allies with her limited knowledge of the Ruinous Powers when Grogar returned. "It seems that the three of you will have to suffice."

That told Chrysalis all she needed to know, but she still felt the need to ask. "What of King Sombra? Was he successful."

"HA!" Grogar exclaimed before channeling power into a large crystal ball, which then showed an image.

The villains cried out in fear and disgust, Cozy Glow even vomiting, at the sight of an 8 foot bipedal knight brutally murdering Sombra.

Chrysalis had never seen a pony bend that way before, and she was certain that the Dark Unicorn was already dead. And yet, the enraged warrior was determined to leave nothing behind but stains and cracks on the throne room floor.

**_Author's Note:_**

I went through a lot of ideas for how this battle would turn out. I hope you all enjoyed it.

So yeah, I know that this volume is advertised as focusing on the Ork, but I'm going to be jumping between him and Aries as hearing the Emperor name him a heretic results in a mid-life identity crisis, just to keep his character interesting.

But that will be when I come back to this story. As I said last chapter, I am taking a break to write an alternate ending for season 9, which will be posted the day after the finale goes public in two weeks.

In the meantime, I will be posting a video for this battle on YouTube, stay tuned.

EDIT: Sorry for the update with no chapter, I just decided to fix any and all mistakes and misprints in these first three before I move on. I've finished my Alternate Ending and will start writing chapter 4 tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4: ANOTHER Restless Night

**_Chapter 4: ANOTHER Restless Night_**

Twilight Sparkle and her friends galloped as fast as they could down the halls of the Crystal Empire's royal castle.

They were spurred onward by the battle damage, fearing the worst, and the sounds of fighting coming from the throne room.

They finally made it, ready to face King Sombra...only to see that it was already over.

What they thought were the sounds of fighting was actually Aries beating _something_ into a formless bloody stain, it was only the torn robe and smashed armor that told them that it _used_ to be King Sombra.

Twilight tore her eyes from the gruesome sight long enough to search for anypony else, and found Cadence tending to the unconscious forms of Tempest, Neighsay, and the Crystal Guard while trying to keep her mind off of the War Hound.

After motioning to Cadence, Twilight and her friends made their way over to her, with Rainbow Dash and Applejack having to help Fluttershy and Rarity look away from carnage beside them.

"Cadence, uh, I see that Sombra has been...dealt with. Uh, would you mind explaining?" Twilight said while throwing a hoof in the War Hound's direction.

"Sombra used his magic to trap Aries in his worst fear and...well, while I am grateful that Sombra failed to turn him with his magic, I wish that he had managed to get out of the throne room before Aries caught him. Do you have any idea what he's afraid of?" Cadence asked.

Twilight came up with numerous theories but none that she could prove so she just shook her head.

**_"RRRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!"_** Aries delivered a final blow to the red stain upon the cracked floor before staring at it with clenched fists, as if hoping that it would move.

"...Uh, Aries?" The War Hound turned to the voice of Rainbow Dash, and at last realized that the Element Bearers had arrived. "Are you okay?"

Aries looked into the eyes of the Pegasus, where the other ponies seemed to be afraid of him for his gruesome display, the boastful athlete showed concern for the astartes.

"...No, but I'll survive." With that, Aries made to leave...only for Rainbow to fly in front of him. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold it big guy. No one's going to hold it against you if you're a little shaken. It's okay to be afraid, and we'll support you. That's what friends are for."

Aries' expression was hidden behind his helmet...barring his clenched fists. "I do not need your help. And my task here is done. It is almost nightfall, and I will be needed to help Luna and the others repel the night's invasion."

Aries shouldered past the Pegasus and made his exit. Rainbow Dash doubted that he had spoken with Tempest and Neighsay, both of whom had been sent to join him before all the craziness, and she knew for a fact that Luna wasn't expecting him tonight, but she decided to let him go. "Fine! You can have a night of punching things to cool off! But in the morning, I'm plANNING TO HAVE A TALK WITH YOU ABout thi-"

The rest of Rainbow Dash's statement was unheard as Aries turned a corner on his way out. But he could guess the rest.

Friends, Xenos considered themselves his friends. He thought he was past this, he thought he had made his peace with the path he had chosen, but hearing the Emperor's own voice name him a heretic...but had he?

Aries realizes that he had never actually heard the voice of the Emperor, and that what he believed was His voice had in truth been that Witch's doing... To think that such a thing was cut from the same cloth as Twilight Sparkle only served to remind him of his own bloodline.

Damn it all. Damn that Witch. It has poisoned his mind with doubt, and he needs to clear it. He needs to purge the Daemons that seek to despoil Equestria. To know how desperate the Great Enemy is to ensure that the Elements of Harmony never reach the stars and drive Chaos back beyond the veil from whence it came, once and for all.

_Canterlot_

Aries was starting to rethink his mistrust of Unicorn magic. Heretical or not, it would've saved him a lot of time. He was now several hours late...at least the PDF was expecting to cover the night without him, he was supposed to be in the Crystal Empire for the night.

But he finally made it...in time to see Luna bidding the PDF farewell?

Striding up to her allowed Luna to notice the astartes' arrival. "Ah, Aries. Twilight sent me a letter detailing what happened. Or at least, what she knows."

"I don't know why you've sent the PDF home for the night, but I need to join in defense of the Dream realm." Aries stated.

"Not all of us. We're still here." Aries turned to the voice of Spitfire and saw her, Pharynx, Buck Wild, and Trixie standing ready...or at least, all but the latter standing ready.

"We were prepared for an invasion, but it appears that the Ruinous Powers are still reeling from their defeat, the only Daemons that are spawning tonight are those born from the Nightmares of Ponyville. And they're hardly something requiring the entire force, especially with most of them still in recovery, so I left it volunteer only." Luna explained.

"I volunteer." Aries said with no discernible emotions. He doubted that they were actually reeling, more likely they had seen what happened and wanted to fuel his doubt. But was this the truth, or was he just finding excuses to justify continuing his heresy?

"I expected as much, though I must insist that you have Rainbow's talk after a night of banishing the fears of others." Luna stated.

"...let us begin." Was the War Hound's only response.

Luna released a sigh, but said nothing more on the matter. She and Aries then joined the others. "Alright Trixie, you should have enough practice now to cast the spell yourself. Think you can manage?"

"Yes ma'am." Trixie replied, shocking everyone. Luna must've had a word with the show mare regarding her personality.

Trixie closed her eyes and focused, her horn lighting up a cross between lavender and pink before her eyes shot open in the form of twin white voids that poured forth from her eyesockets to engulf the gathered creatures.

The white void faded out, giving way to the Dream Realm. The dreams of Equestria floated around them, but where naive innocence was once common-place, now, it was rare indeed.

Word of the Awakening had spread like wildfire. Though only Ponyville's survivors dreamt of the true horrors, those who place faith in rumors were being haunted by nightmares lesser and greater than the small Chaos assault. Phantom invaders with indiscernable features, and some imaginary monsters harassed the ponies of Equestria in all but a few dreams.

"Alright everypony. My previous orders stand." Lunas stated. Gaining nods of understanding from the assembled group.

"Aries. Yellow Jacket is still having Nightmares of the astartes sorcerer that shattered her horn. We managed to pacify her earlier tonight, but her fears cannot be banished so easily, and the power the phantom wields is frighteningly similar to the real thing." Luna explained.

"I gave her permission to rest and recover. I will defend her as she does just that." Aries declared. He had praised the unicorn as though she were one of his brothers when he heard of her ordeal against the Traitor, described as a Dark Angel Librarian.

"That is the only nightmare that would require your attention...If we have enough to ourselves, I could let you spend the night slaughtering more of those Ork creatures if you wish." Luna offered. Aries knew why she brought it up, but said nothing more as he departed.

Luna sighed as she watched him leave. She knows nothing of what he saw in Sombra's spell, but she had seen his past. His father's betrayal...his brothers' last stand...his death and damnation...truly, the younger princess had never seen a more tortured soul.

That was the thought on her mind when her eyes caught something peculiar. At first, she thought it was just a shadow, but this was disproven as it wasn't attached to anything.

Luna glanced around to see if anycreature needed her assistance at the moment, but they all had the nightmares well in hand.

And so, Luna moved in to investigate the shadowy spiral. It looked like a dream, but it couldn't be, the dreamer would've had to be completely dead inside.

As Luna got closer however, she realized that it could be nothing else. As curiosity turned to concern, Luna entered the dream.

Darkness, that was all she could see. Even casting light with her horn didn't help much.

She walked along the dark halls, searching for whatever pony could be so broken as to dream of this, and help them escape the darkness.

The hall ended before a single door, which she opened with ease...and nearly closed it in fright.

Luna recognized the beast only for her experiences with Aries, it was an Ork. She had once conjured a small army of the beasts to appease the Butcher's Nails when Aries was still a World Eater, but this creature was a farcry from the war hungry savages Aries believed them to be.

He was covered head to toe in scars both old and new, bound to the wall by barbed chains, and his eyes...there was no denying that this Ork was the dreamer.

But how? How was an Ork in Equestria? And what could possibly have put it in such a state of mind? The Chaos Marines? Could they have brought over a slave when they invaded that was left here when they were defeated? Only one way to find out.

Luna's horn glew brighter as she probed the Ork's mind. It didn't resist her...but part of her wish that it had.

She saw them: 'Dem Drew Gahry Gitz' as the Ork labeled them. They weren't the Chaos Marines, but Luna quickly found that they were on par with them, if not worse.

It was a brief probe into basic memory rather than an in depth look into the creature's life like when she recreated the Atrocity for Aries, but it was enough.

This creature suffered so much pain that it couldn't immediately remember anything else. It didn't know how it got here, where it was before, only that it suffered...and suffered greatly. It had given up fighting back, given up begging for mercy...it had even given up on begging for death, which it now desired more than anything else.

Luna was about to see where it was now, but the dream ended...the Ork awoke. Leaving Luna in the Dream Realm, puzzling what to do next.

**_Author's Note:_**

I am _so_ sorry that it's this short, but I had a hell of a week, and I caught a cold.

But next chapter is going to be better as focus shifts back to the Ork (who gets a name) and Luna starts investigating. Will she go to Aries for advice? And if not, then whowillshe turn to?

These answers and more, on the next exciting episode...of**_Dragon Ball Z_** (sorry, not sorry)


	5. Chapter 5: Ape Analysis

**_Chapter 5: Ape Analysis_**

His eyez fluttad open lazily. He didn't wan' ta get up, he didn' care...but then again, wakin up is betta dan being woken up.

After weighin' da proz an' konz while resting his eyez for...bout 20 minutes, he decided to drag himself up off da tree.

He loiked da tree, it was quiet and kumfertable. But iftheyknew he loiked da tree, he would lose it.

With a weighted sigh, he lumbered off to see wut fresh hellz awaited him.

Da uvva kreetchaz all steered clear ov 'im. He may have cared, long ago, but bein feared by his equals meant nuffin ta him now...dey wereallnuffin.

He walked around, looking for somethin, anythin, dat would make him feel loike he filled his quota fer tha day so he could go back to his tree. Eventually, he foundher.

He had less clues dan a humie Mekboy tryin ta figure out how to werk a Shoota as to what she was, but he knew for certain dat she was gonna urt him badly. He didn' know how, he didn' know when, but he knew it would happen.

It's funny, he could've sworn dat dey waz done wiff dis trikk. Had dey really found a new way to Zogg him dis way?

Some Years Ago

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm, don't act so surprised, surely you saw it coming."Said da Drukhari Wych. She had been noice ta him since dey met. For years, she had been koind an gentle as she tended to his wounds. Her treachery waz only revealed when she had broke 'im out, 'elped him escape...and brought him to a new, crueler master.

Less Years Ago

He had escaped. He waz free. Sure, dere were humies comin' ta kill'im, but he didn't care. He welcomed deff.

Da humie dat leveled one of deir flashloight gunz at him keeled over wiff a ole in hiz ead...da Dark Eldar dat recaptured him and da uvva Boyz thanked'em fer distractin' deir prey.

Even Less Years Ago

He knew betta dis toime. He knew dey waz watchin' him. He knew dat dese Eldar 'ere were just tryin'na trikk him inta finkin dat dey waz noice, or dey would try ta kill'im only ta be stopped, it waz always one or da uvva, so he would kill dem first...either as vengeance, or as mercy...turns out dat dese Eldar were a Cult of Isha.

He didn't wut dat meant at first, but da Drukhari Gitz taught him...as well as informed him dat some pakt or uvva prevented da Drukhari from spillin' Aeldari blood on da planet lest dey bring down da wraff of some uvva Eldar...dese Eldar only appeared to spit in'is face and leave him to'is fate...Oops.

Present Day

Aftadat, he stopped playin' along. He didn' trust anyone, he didn't try to get uvvaz ta kill'im, an' he didn' kill uvvaz neetha. So, da Drukhari Gitz got bored and went back to da usual torture tactics...guess dey got bored ov dat too.

Wutevva, just because dey wanted him to fall for it again didn' mean he was goin' to. He wasn't gonna trust dis fing, he wasn't gonna attack it, he wasn't doin nuffin.

Fluttershy watched the green ape stare at her, distrust clear in its eyes...distrust, anger...and despair. Like it knew that she was his enemy, that he needed to stop her, but he was powerless to do so.

Fluttershy wanted the ape to trust her, but she knew that going about it the wrong way would only convince him that he_wasn't_ powerless to stop her. And between his large frame and predatory teeth, she was convinced that would lead him to attack her. So she would have to show him that she didn't want to hurt him without showing him how much stronger than her he was...at least, for now.

Her first thought had been to ask Twilight, but apparently the Honor Roll students have all had an odd dream. Something about a connection to the Spirit of Harmony being severed and new champions being chosen? Something like that.

She had understood enough to know that Twilight was too busy. So, she had one of her bird friends bring a letter to the next best choice.

"Oh, there you are Fluttershy... I kind of hoped youwouldn'tbe around that smell." Fluttershy turned to the sight of Doctor Fauna coming over to her as quickly as she could on three hooves. The fourth was covering her nose.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry I forgot to warn you about his smell. I'm afraid it's a natural musk or something." Fluttershy explained.

"Oh, you're referring to the strange creature from your letter, right? Well, I've seen my fair share of strange creatures wonder out of the Everfree Forest, but if your assumption that it came from the same place as Aries and those Chaos Marines is correct then I wouldn't know where to-" Ponyville's local vet came to an abrupt halt. She had seen the ape out of the corner of her eye, and now couldn't turn away.

She had treated manticores that had been chased from their territory by bigger specimens, so the ape's predatory appearance didn't frighten her. But his scars did. "...Oh...my...WORD! WH-WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME HAPPEN TO HIM!!!?"

Dr. Fauna was at his side in an instant. Examining every single injury. The slight movement in the ape's face told Fluttershy that the doctor's interaction irritated him for some reason, but he would tolerate it.

Fluttershy wanted to respect the ape's wishes and pull Dr. Fauna away from him, but she also wanted the ape to learn that they were just trying to help him.

Fluttershy thought it over and decided to ask Dr. Fauna to stop. "Um, Dr. Fauna? I think you're too close. He doesn't seem to li-"

"HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS!?" Dr. Fauna shouted audibly enough to make Fluttershy's ears ring. "THESE ARE_KNIFE WOUNDS_!!! I'VE TREATED ANIMALS THAT WERE ABUSED BY THEIR OWNERS BEFORE, BUT THIS!! THIS ISN'T ABUSE!! THIS IS...IT'S...**_I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!"_**

"I know. It's horrible, what happened to him. But you're still maki-" "WHAT SORT OF SICK, TWISTED, MONSTER WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO ANOTHER CREATURE!?" Dr. Fauna interrupted again. "HE CAME FROM ARIES' WORLD, RIGHT!? MAYBE HE COULD TELL US WHAT HAPPENED SO WE CAN HELP HI-"

**_"STOP!!!"_**Fluttershy shouted over the hyperventilating vet, finally grabbing her attention.

"I know that what happened to him is horrible. But where you see it in his injuries, I see it in his eyes. And when you started examining him, you started making him uncomfortable. So please give him his space." Fluttershy said calmly yet boldly.

Dr. Fauna finally calmed and backed away from the ape, who decided that he didn't want to stand here anymore and wandered off, and raised her hoof to say something before Fluttershy politely cut her off and added. "And Aries made no attempts to cover up the fact that he hates other creatures. He has his reasons for doing so, yes. But he still hates them. So if that poor thingisfrom the same universe, then he is probably one of the Imperium's enemies. You have to admit, he probably_was_a terrifying pony-eating monster before somecreature hurt him."

Dr. Fauna fell into an uncomfortable silence as she processed what she knew about the situation and what she could do to make it better...nothing.

With a sigh of defeat, Ponyville's local vet lamented. "I'm terribly sorry Fluttershy but, I have no idea how to help you with this. I'm afraid you'll have to ask Twilight when she's free." And with that, Dr. Fauna made her exit.

Fluttershy gave out a disappointed sigh as she landed back on square one. And as if it couldn't get worse, Angel bounced up to her with a less than amused look on his face._Would you mind telling me why your new friend is STINKING UP MY SPOT!?!?_

"I'm sure he didn't know it was yours, but I'll go tell him." Fluttershy said with a tired tone as she headed over to Angel'sspot.

When she first built the Sanctuary, Angel had laid a claim to a small hillside where he could catch some sun. The hill was almost a perfect size for him...so she had to wonder what the ape saw in it.

As she expected, the ape was curled up on the tiny hill and nowhere near fitting on it. And he was covering his face to block out the sun. It couldn't be comfortable for him.

"Um..excuse me." Fluttershy said, causing the ape to poke his head out.

"You don't seem very comfortable here. Why don't you go back to that tree you seem to like, I'm sure it's a better fit for you." Fluttershy said. Still puzzling why he was trying to sleep on a rabbit sized hilltop with the sun on his face.

_HA! Werked loike a charm._He thought ta himself as he pushed himself off da tiny ill an' made hiz way back to'iz tree. All he had ta do was keep troyin' ta foind a betta spot, and she wouldn' take his tree away. Sure she moight let'im stay in a worse spot lata, but oh well. Stayin in a worse spot some ov da toime was betta dan losin' da tree all togevva.

As he made hiz way back to da tree. He thought about her...Fluddashoy, dat'z wut da uvva git called'er.

She seemed noice enough. He knew it was a trikk, of course. But waz it wrong to enjoy it till da mazk came off?

Ov course dat bizzniss bout ow he kame from anuvva world sounded weird...prolly a trikk too...but wut about dat uvva git. Aereez. Who da ell waz'e?

Dat waz prolly da trikk. Maybe Fluddashoy wasn' da one dat waz gonna Zogg'im ova. Maybe dis Aereez waz one ov dem Drukhari Gitz Zoggin Fluddashoy.

As he laid down on hiz tree, he found'imself remembrin da Cult of Isha. It had only appened once. Could dis be annuva?

...Nah. It waz a trikk. It ad ta be.

Fluttershy watched him settle down on his tree and take a nap... he wasn't the most active creature she's ever seen.

Fluttershy turned away and was about to tend to some other animals... when an audible pop signaled a teleportation.

Fluttershy turned to the sight of Twilight, evidently finished with whatever she was busy with, in time to see Twilight become acquainted with the ape's smell. "SWEET CELESTIA!! WHAT THE HEY IS THAT!?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Twilight. The new animal I asked you to help with is...musky." Fluttershy put it mildly.

"That'snotthe word I had in mind. Ugh, so where is he anyway?" Twilight said while putting a shield around her face to try and block out the smell.

"He's right over there." Fluttershy pointed a hoof at the ape while wondering to herself_Isn't that a bit much?_

Twilight turned the ape...and recognized it.

Fluttershy could tell from the look in her eyes. A look recognition...and fear. "Is...is that..._AN **ORK!!!?"**_

**_Author's Note:_**

So, who remembers when Aries told Twilight everything he knew about the Greenskinned menace during the earlier chapters of Lost Loyalty?

For those wondering why the Ork kept thinking Drukhari rather than Panzee Gitz, it's because they beat the name into him. (Arrogant assholes)

You may also have noticed that these Dark Eldar are a little more patient when it comes to causing pain. That's because they're a Home Brew of mine. Meet the Kabal Of The Shattered Soul.

These guys don't bother with the usual stuff and are rarely seen in the Dark City. There leading fetish is Mind-Fucking.

Also, the reason the Ork doesn't have a name yet is because the Dark Eldar never gave him one. He was just a plaything after all.

I was planning to use Zecora instead of Dr. Fauna, but I would take_forever_ trying to write for her, sorry Zecora fans.

Sorry that it's just filler for now, I'm trying to get back to the Grim Darkness as quick as I can. My immediate plans going forward are to have Twilight asking Sunset Shimmer to cross reference her information vs Aries' regarding Orks and later to have Aries take Twilight's place during the events of Sparkle's Seven. I'm going to stick with season 9's plot until after the events of Frenemies, you'll know why when you see it.

Okay, that's all I got. See you next week.


	6. Chapter 6: Comparing Notes

**_Chapter 6: Comparing Notes_**

"Is that...AN_ORK!?_" Twilight shouted.

"Hmm, you've...seen one before?" Fluttershy asked, confused by this development.

"WHAT!? N-NO! I-UH..." Twilight was starting to freak out, so Fluttershy put a reassuring foreleg around her back.

"It's okay Twilight. I know that whatever he is is a dangerous predator, but this one has been badly hurt and doesn't want to hurt anycreature...if only because it doesn't think it can." Fluttershy said, now confusing Twilight, who sputtered out numerous failed attempts to reply before actuallytaking a lookat the creature.

"...Wow, Aries made them sound so... monstrous... I never would've pictured this." Twilight said, confirming Fluttershy's original theory.

"So hedidcome from Aries' world. So, he just told you about them?" Fluttershy hypothesized.

"Uh, Y-yeah. He told me everything he knew about them. The first day after we all met him." Twilight explained.

"I'm guessing that he only knew bad things about them?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, yeah. They're...kinda evil." Twilight said.

"Don't you think Aries might've been a bit biased? He doesn't really like aliens." Fluttershy pointed out.

"Well...I guess but... they_worship_war." Twilight said.

This caused Fluttershy to understand Twilight's dread upon seeing the ap-Ork. "Oh...oh dear...but um, this one doesn't seem that bad."

Twilight looked between the kind pegasus and the warmongering beast. "Okay,_maybe_ Aries wasn't quite right...or telling the truth...or maybe this Ork just picked a fight with the wrong enemy and learned a very painful lesson about making picking fights for fun."

Fluttershy grimaced as the image of, not the Chaos Marines, but Aries inflicting the Ork's injuries while cursing him for the crime of being 'born wrong' danced through her mind.

Well uh, is there anything that you can tell me about_this_Ork?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight, now over her panic attack, put her thinking cap on. "Hmm, well I can give you the book I wrote, but unless I ask Aries a specific question that would arouse suspicion... I think the best course is to compare notes with somepony else who knows abput Orks."

Fluttershy couldn't keep the confusion out of her face. "There's somepony else who knows more about Orks than Aries?"

Twilight nodded. "I'll tell Spike to send you the book while I go talk to her. I think you should get the others together so that we all know what we're dealing with. Getting Aries to leave this Ork in peace will probably be one of the hardest Friendship Missions we've ever done."

Fluttershy nodded as Twilight teleported away.

Twilight reappeared in her castle...face to face with Princess Luna.

"WOAH! P-PRINCESS!! WU-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Twilight half-shouted in surprise.

"I came here seeking knowledge on a creature from Aries' that somehow found it's way here." Luna explained.

"You know about the Ork?" Twilight asked.

"Yes an- Wait,_you_know about the Ork?" Luna asked back.

The two then exchanged information. From Twilight, the Greenskin's location. From Luna, Dem Drew Ghari Gitz. And from there, the two princesses thanked each other for the exchange of information and returned to their own duties. With Princess Luna promising to keep Aries away from Fluttershy's sanctuary with help from Rainbow, and with Twilight sending Spike to give Fluttershy her book about Orks before seeking further knowledge on the matter at hand.

_Sunset Shimmer's Dimension_

The last week of Summer Break ensured that Twilight's arrival in this dimension went unnoticed. Unfortunately, Twilight had, in her excitement, forgotten to write ahead to Sunset.

Twilight glanced around the empty schoolyard before turning to look at the statue that served as a portal between worlds._Should I go back and write to her?_

Twilight pondered it, but decided against it. She had been here enough times to understand that this world's Equestria was only city rather than a country, and it wasn't half the size of Manehattan. So she chose a direction and started walking, confident that even if she couldn't find Sunset this way, she could find somepony...or do they say some_human_in this dimension?

She made sure to stay off the road, as her last trip here taught her about cars, and keep to the streets.

She was walking for maybe five minutes before she encountered a familiar face. Unfortunately, it wasn't one that she knew in this dimension. In fact, she only knew their Equestrian counterparts for their less-than-friendly interactions with the CMCs that had ceased after they found their Cutie-Marks.

"Excuse me Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, do you mind telling where Sunset Shimmer is?" Twilight asked, already expecting a similar attitude to the Equestrian filly from the human preteen.

"Um, shouldn't _you_ know? And what happened to your glasses?" The young girl said with a raised eyebrow and a hand on her hip.

"Um, uh, how to explain this... uh, do you remember back when Sunset was... not so friendly?" Twilight tried.

The two girls brightened up. "Well_duh_, that's when that other you came and took her down with awesome magic princess powers!" The started to get excited as they recalled the events.

"Yes, well, it wasn't the other me, it was...me." Twilight explained.

They stared at her for a few seconds until their eyes widened with recognition. "Y-you're...you're..."

"The awesome magic princess?" Twilight tried.

This resulted in childish squeeing and jumping and babblings of admiration before Twilight put her hands to calm them down. "Okay, okay, I know magic isn't really that common here. But please, I was just doing what anypony else would've done."

This calmed them down, but only enough that Twilight could discern what they were saying. "Ican'tbelievethis. Thisissoawesome. Isthereanythingwecandoforyouprincess?"

"YES!" Twilight shouted a little too loud. "I'm looking for Sunset Shimmer or someone who would know where to find her."

They continued their babblings about not letting her down and how cool this was while pulled out rectangular devices that Twilight recalled being popular in this world, though she still didn'tquiteknow how they worked.

In just over a minute, a series of beeps erupted from one of their devices. "Okay, it looks like Scootaloo is with Sunset, playing some nerdy tabletop game at a shop called Gamers N Geeks. It's not far from here. Would you like me to call a limo for you? Daddy won't mind."

"Yes, thank you." Twilight said with a slight bow, which drove the young girls wild.

A short drive later and a slightly longer than necessary goodbye and Twilight was finally at her destination.

The 'shop' had three shelves of tabletop games, the cashier counter contained various snacks, dice, and trading cards, and the rest of the building's interior was a plain white room with half a dozen tables housing just as many games with players either participating or waiting for their turns in tournaments. Except for one table that seemed to house a game similar to Ogres Oubliettes, though from what Twilight could see at this distance, the trademark Os were replaced by Ds for some reason.

A more focused scan of the shop allowed Twilight to find Sunset, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo facing off against the human copies of the Dropouts in, of all things, Warhammer 40k.

Twilight made her way over to the table. As she did, she made mental notes of the armies that she knew could prove to be very real.

Sunset had foregone her Thousand Sons/Daemon army, and seemed to be playing with loyal Space Marines. It was hard to make out details from a distance, but she could see that the of their armor was red, and their symbol appeared to be a black bird with a red...something, it was too far away.

Rainbow Dash had, ironically enough, an Ork army. While their skin was varying shades of green, most of which looked like the wrong shade was used, key spots of their clothing were painted red. Twilight noticed a lot of them had something that looked like a rocket attached to their backs, and she favored vehicles over foot soldiers.

Lastly was Scootaloo's 'army', which only had two squads and a vehicle. They were human, not Space Marines like Aries, but normal looking humans with an olive green armor and camouflage pants. This would probably have been the least impressive army, especially since Scootaloo, as a child, didn't have as much money to spend. But, the reason her army was so small was the vehicle, Twilight could only guess at how big the real one would be by comparing it's model size vs the difference between the model humans and herself. The conclusion: that was one big tank.

On the other side of the table, Lightning Dust had a Space Marine army that Twilight didn't recognize, bearing white power armor and a symbol that looked like a winged lightning bolt, and like Rainbow Dash's Orks, favored vehicles over foot soldiers.

Short Fuse, on the other hand, had a_very_ recognizable army: World Eaters, Mostly melee specialists reinforced by two artillery vehicles.

And last but not least, Rolling Thunder's army. Twilight had no idea what they were but they had alotof blades on their armor and vehicles, and did not look friendly.

At last, Twilight closed the distance. "Um, Sunset?"

Twilight had hoped calling out before putting a hand on the human unicorn's shoulder would prevent a shock. Unfortunately, a roll to hit with a ten unit squad drowned out her words, and her hand caught Sunset completely off guard.

"WAAAGH!! HUH!? T-TWILIGHT!?" Twilight blushed in embarrassment while the rest of the table started laughing, with Rainbow Dash adding. "I thought_I_was the Warboss."

"Urg, Twilight. Please tell me this is impor-" Sunset's eye went wide. "...Princess?"

"I amsosorry. I didn't mean to scare you, I jus-" Sunset waved off her apology. "Stop, stop. It's okay. Just tell me why you're here."

"Uh, is everything okay over there?" Lightning Dust asked. Her expression showing that she only cared because the game had stopped.

"Yeah, just...uh, hey kid, do you know enough about Space Marines to take my turn when it comes up? I'll probably be done before then." Sunset asked Scootaloo.

"Uh, I think?" Answered the preteen.

"Good enough. Come on." Sunset gestured for Twilight to follow her and walked out of the store and a small distance away from the door so that no one could eavesdrop, just in case.

"Is this about the World Eater?" Sunset asked.

"No, not really. But it's another creature from his dimension. He described them as being monstrous brutes, but this one isn't like that." Twilight explained.

"Hmm, do you mind if I see for myself?" Sunset asked while holding her hand out.

Twilight knew what she meant and nodded. Sunset placed her hand on Twilight's shoulder and her eyes began to glow. It lasted for but a moment before Sunset returned...well, not necessarily to normal, in fact she appeared pretty shaken.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked. The minute Sunset registered her existence, she threw her arms around her in a frantic hug.

"I saw it...I-I saw Ponyville...the violence...you...you fought a_NIGHT LORD!!! _DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT FREAK WOULD'VE DONE TO YOU!?"

Twilight returned the embrace, unsure how to respond. She didn't know, she had only the most barebone idea what they were up against, and that horrified her.

"Sunset...does this Ork... does he prove that some of what this game says might be wrong?" Twilight asked.

Sunset pulled herself away, with tears in her eyes. "...It...it would have...except for Luna's discovery."

"You mean 'Dem Drew Ghari Gitz'?" Twilight asked, pulling a snicker from Sunset.

"That's...definitely what an Ork would call them. I don't know too much about them myself, except for what I've seen on the TTS series, but Rolling Thunder is playing them, so maybe she can tell you."

Twilight started, but nodded. Those bladed beings were Dem Drew Ghari Gitz? Definitely not friendly.

The two made their way back inside and towards their gaming table. "Fake a smile. These three yahoos aren't going to believe the whole 'magic pony princess' thing, so just let me do the talking."

The students of Celestia returned to Rainbow Dash crying out in victory as Short Fuse rage-quit after his berserker charge rolled short by an inch and left him open to a counter-charge.

"Ahem, um, Rolling Thunder?" Sunset called to one of the two Dropouts who was laughing at the third's misfortune.

She turned her attention to them. "Yeah, what's up?"

"My friend here was reading a Warhammer 40k fanfic about an Ork who was..._tamed_by Drukhari. And she didn't know how that was possible. I don't know enough about the Dark Eldar to tell her, but you seem like a fan." Sunset gestures to her army as she said this.

Rolling Thunder grins at Twilight. "Oh yeah, the Dark Eldar could definitely scare the Waaagh out of an Ork. Just like I'm gonna do to Rainbow Dash in a minute." She winks at the rainbow headed teen who simply turns her nose up with a confident smirk.

"Oh please, as soon as I'm done taking apart these berserkers, you're next on the chopping blo-" Rainbow's smile disappears as her eyes launch open and come down to earth, or more specifically, Rolling Thunder's Drukhari out of range to charge her Evil Sunz, but in a perfect range to charge Short Fuse's berserkers...or any other army in that range.

"H-HEY!! NO FAIR!!!" Rainbow Dash's realization of the trap she had almost fallen for threw the two more clever Dropouts into a fit of laughter while Short Fuse cried out in arrogant relief that his army came away from the jaws of death.

"Anyway, yeah. It's perfectly believable that this Ork would give up on life after a tour of Cammoragh. Poor guy probably had a hole drilled into his gender less groin so the Incubi could-" "AND WE ARE DONE WITH THIS**_NOW!!!_**" Shouted Sunset Shimmer with her hands clamped over Scootaloo's ears.

Rolling Thunder looked at her with sadistic amusement. "Oh? I thought your friend here wanted to know more about them. It's not like you can Sugarcoat them."

Sunset scowled at her. "Can't you just give her a book or something?"

The Dropout shrugged. "Only one I got with me's my codex." As she said this, she dug the book out of a box at her feet. Presumably, the one she carries her armies in.

"Thank you." Twilight said, though she wished she had her horn so she could cast a_quick-clean_spell on her tongue.

Twilight reached for the book, but Rolling Thunder snatched. "Woah woah woah, thirty bucks." She declared, holding her hand out.

"THIRTY BUCKS!?!? That codex is 7E. I could buy one online forfive." Rainbow Dash shouted just as Twilight decided that these 'bucks' were bits.

"Well then, I guess you're waiting for it. Hope you can get same-day shipping." Rolling Thunder replied.

"Grr. Uh, Rainbow? I only got eight." Sunset said, holding up some green paper that Twilight hypothesized were these 'bucks'.

"Don't look at me, I don't have any cash on me." Rainbow replied.

"I got it." All eyes turned to Scootaloo, who was counting a large wad of bucks.

"...What? It's been a week and a half since I got my Baneblade, and I'm saving up for some Basilisks." The preteen replied to the stares.

"Huh? Then why didn't you bring it to our last game?" Rainbow Dash asked, gesturing to the large tank.

"Um, I wasn't finished painting it?" Scootaloo said with an uncertain voice, as if she didn't know if her answer was acceptable.

The older teens nodded in understanding before Rainbow Dash took the money and exchanged it for the codex...and then grabbing another one from her own box.

"Here Twilight, this is my Ork codex." She then hugged her friend and whispered. "Sunset told me what's going on. I don't know everything, and I definitely don't know what you discussed with her, but good luck."

The interdimensional friends broke the hug. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna little miss cheapskate pay for that stunt. I will_not_ be charging the berserkers. Instead, my Wartrukks will deposit my Stormboyz, who will jump into the Dark Eldar lines and roll to hit."

The most audible reaction came from Short Fuse "WOO HOO!! YOU ARE_SO_GONNA PAY FOR THAT ON MY NEXT TURN!!"

"OH NO SHE WON'T!! AS SOON AS RAINBOW FINISHES HER TURN, I'M OPENING FIRE ON YOUR BERSERKERS WITH MY BANEBLADE!! HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR ELEVEN BARRELS OF HEEEEeeeee_eeeecckk??_" Scootaloo bit her tongue when she saw Rainbow Dash's warning scowl.

"Nice save." The older teen said without softening her expression, causing the preteen to blush in shame.

Rainbow Dash finally looked away and started counting up the die for her hit roll as Twilight started her journey home...only to come back a minute later. "Uh, Sunset? I kinda need a ride."

**_Author's Note:_**

My most sincere apologies for taking so long. There were a number of reasons, the most immediate being my weekend.

I do most of writing over the weekend, I usually only need Saturday, but if I'm busy Saturday, I try to catch up on Sunday.

This week, however, my Trade School had a Dance Party on Saturday which I chose to participate in, and introduced a new activity that will occupy my Sundays until further notice: _PAINTBALL!!_

But, these are not the only reasons. I also didnothave this chapter completely thought out from the beginning...and I fear that this problem is not over.

There are a lot of things I want to happen in this Volume, and things that Ineedto happen, and I don't how to make them happen.

I view writing a story as painting a puzzle picture while putting it together: my mind gives me plot twists, fight scenes, and other images subconsciously (I'm Schizotypal and use it to my advantage) but I have to _make_ my mind paint the missing pieces so I can complete the puzzle. All the while, my mad mind is painting puzzle pieces that form other pictures, and I am tempted to put away what I am trying to build in order to work on this new idea.

I amnotgoing on hiatus...not yet. But, I have very few painted pieces for Vol. 3, so I am going to conclude this Volume, and then start on this new project, and when I run out of painted pieces there, I'll return to begin Vol. 3.

In the meantime, enjoy this filler chapter. P.S. I have never had the privilege of playing the tabletop, and will (hopefully) be getting my first figures this holiday season.

And if anyone's curious as to why I chose Rolling Thunder to be the Helper-Fairy this chapter, the Dark Eldar's need-for-speed gimmick made the Dropouts an easy choice, and Rolling Thunder's voice just sounds like it would belong to a pervert (but that might just be me)

Imayadd to it later to make it more interesting (I originally planned a conversation between Twilight and EG Diamond Tiara to give her a backstory separate from her pony counterpart, but I lolly gagged and felt like I didn't have time.)

Anyways, enjoy the chapter.


	7. Chapter 7: Make It Orky(ish)

**_Chapter 7: Make It Orky(ish)_**

Twilight's friends were frozen in place, their mouths agape, staring at the two codexes.

Most of their information applied more to the game than the lore, but what little there was painted a most morbid picture.

The Orks were everything Aries claimed them to be. The only thing that they learned from EG Rainbow Dash's codex was the names of significant Orks threatening the Imperium today, along with the battles they were fighting.

Everypony found the beasts deeply disturbing, since the absolute nicest of their kind can only be compared to Diamond Dogs and the meaner Dragons.

This was especially disturbing for Rarity, who declared the Orks to be the enemy of everything she stood for...until they discussed the Dark Eldar.

The Orks were _not_ the enemy of Rarity's ideals, they were simply their absence...but the Drukhari were their _perversion_.

They were the most opposite of the Changelings, where the Changelings fed on love, Drukhari fed on despair. And where the Changelings abandoned their wicked ways at the first opportunity, the Dark Eldar _enjoyed_ their cruelty.

Where the Orks had made war into a sport, the Dark Eldar had made torture into an art.

The stunned silence was only broken by sniffles as Fluttershy began to weep. "...that...that poor thing...how could they?..."

Rainbow Dash draped a wing over her eldest friend. "It's...it's okay. He's alright now. We can help him."

"...But should we?" All eyes turned to Rarity, who immediately threw her hooves up in defense. "I-I mean, don't get me wrong. It's _horrible_ what those ghastly heathens did to him, but...do we _really_ want him to...return to normal?"

Most were uncertain, but Fluttershy was not. "Rarity, I understand what you're saying, but even if this Ork decides that he wants to be evil...that's his choice. And we have to respect that."

Rarity was about to argue that, but Fluttershy put a hoof up and continued. "If he chooses to be evil, we will stop him. He's only as strong as the average Earth Pony, I don't believe that he's a Weirdboy, and unless he came from the Blood Axe klan, he isn't going to be interested in making plans...Besides, it's a little too late to prevent Orks from becoming a part of Equestria...unless we set my Sanctuary on fire."

The group was confused by this at first, but their eyes widened to pinpoints when they realized she was referring to the Ork's method of reproduction: shedding spores from his skin that grow in the ground until they emerge as fully grown Orks looking for a fight.

"So...I guess...befriending the Orks is our only option." Twilight voiced out loud.

"Oh, Aries is going to _love_ this." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, knowing that he was probably going to declare war if they didn't let him kill the Ork...which they just couldn't do.

"Well, now that we know what we're not doin', does anypony know what we're gonna do?" Applejack asked her friends.

"Hmm, well I don't think a party will work, unless I convert my Party Cannon to use Dakka, but maybe if...OOOHH!!! WE CAN TURN HIM INTO A DRAGON!!" Pinkie Pie shouted, much to her friends' confusion.

"...and how would we do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well _duh_, we already decided that the nicest Orks were like the meanest of Dragons, so let's teach him how to be a Dragon so he'll be a nice Ork." Pinkie Pie explained like it was obvious...and now that her friends knew she was being figurative, it was.

"Pinkie Pie...that's...THAT'S _GENIUS!!_" Twilight shouted, causing the party pony to smile with an audible 'squee'.

"Okay, so our best bet is to show him how Dragons have a good time and hope he doesn't take it overboard...eh, we've pulled off more half-baked plans than that." Rainbow Dash observed.

"CUE THE MONTAGE!!" Pinkie Pie shouted while hitting the Play button on a boombox.

https/youtu.be/whxcq4I0kAo

_Fluttershy_

Fluttershy presents the codexes to the Ork. Upon seeing his subtle reaction, and reading it as an expectation of strife, Fluttershy put a calming hoof on the Ork before explaining what she and her friends had decided.

_Applejack_

Applejack had a few burned trees left over from the Awakening that she had been meaning to get rid of after rebuilding the farm. So she figured letting the Ork chop them down would be a good baby step.

The Ork looked at the ax in his hand as if had been handed a child's toy gun to fight a war, but nonetheless did as he was told.

He charged the first tree and swung, the ax-head buried into the tree...and broke off. Fearing punishment for failure of his task, the Ork immediately grabbed the tree and pulled it from the ground and tossed it aside before charging the next one.

Applejack and Fluttershy looked on wide-eyed as scorched trees flew through the air, one smashing a stray cart, and another tearing away a large cluster of fruit-heavy branches from a healthy tree.

_Rainbow Dash_

It surprised nopony that Rainbow Dash gravitated towards the Evil Suns klan, (which Twilight realized was the Ork army used by the athletic Pegasus' human counterpart) or that she wanted to give this Ork a taste of speed as well.

To this end, Rainbow Dash found the wreck of the Derby Racer cart from the race she, Rarity, and Applejack almost accidentally ruined for their younger sisters a while back and rebuilt it, painted red.

She sat the Ork in the passenger seat and took off down the streets of Ponyville...without having warned anypony first.

It didn't take long for the high speed cruise to become a frantic race between reckless driver and innocent pedestrians, and while Rainbow was able to avoid hurting somepony, she couldn't prevent a crash.

Rainbow Dash pulled herself out of the wreckage and shook the stars out of her vision. She looked for the Ork to see if he was alright, and saw holding one of his teeth...and smiling about it.

The smile disappeared when he realized that he had no pockets to hold his tooth in, and having no other way to keep it...he ate it.

_Pinkie Pie_

Ponyville's local party pony wasn't willing to turn her party cannon into a lethal weapon, but whatever else the Orks were, they were fun loving. With this in mind, she decided to ask some Dragons what they do for fun.

Smolder was still coping with the tragic events involving her brother and Ember, so Pinkie Pie ended up enlisting two members of Aries' PDF: Blaze and Inferno.

The Dragon couple set up an obstacle course of rocks and trees and other things for the Ork to test it's strength on.

After showing him how it's done, the Ork was unleashed upon the obstacles...or so they thought.

Unfortunately, Dragons are a bit stronger than Ork Boyz. And the Ork was only able to move half of the obstacles. To make matters worse, he once more came to expect punishment for failure and started to panic, attacking the unmovable obstacles with such ferocity that he was hurting himself.

Fluttershy immediately rushed to the Ork's side and calmed him down, and was astounded to see that his wounds were already healing with only the deepest leaving scars so faint, they were practically invisible next to the deeper scars adorning his body.

_Rarity_

Rarity and the Ork were behind a curtain. Fluttershy couldn't hide how nervous she was, she knew that Rarity absolutely _despised_ the way Orks clothed themselves, and she also knew that the Ork was likely to hate anything that Rarity tried to dress him in, but Rarity had assured her that she would dress him as 'a stylish savage'.

Fluttershy had no idea what that meant...until the curtain parted.

The Ork was dressed head to toe in studded black pleather beginning with a bandana and ending in studded pleather boots.

The Ork's expression showed that he found the spiky studs to be too small, but otherwise, he liked it.

There was something else in his expession, but Fluttershy couldn't quite make it out. If Pinkie Pie were there with her, then she would've explained that his expressionclearlystated that he had just developed the spontaneous urge to paint his skin white, fly into outer space on a rocket powered motorcycle, and call everyone a bastich.

He shrugged his shoulders to say 'oh well' and then hacked something up (a tooth?) and put it in his pocket, the sight of saliva leaking from the pocket causing Rarity to faint.

_Twilight Sparkle_

Twilight thought long and hard about how to help this Ork, but in the end, there wasn't much she could do for...it hit her like a freight train, he needs a name.

After looking over the Ork codex again, she realized that Ork were very similar to pony names in that they primarily served to highlight the Ork/pony's identity.

And so, when Fluttershy brought the Ork to her castle, she asked the Pegasus to gauge the Ork's reaction to different names.

Unfortunately, all of Twilight's choices sounded more like pony names with an Orkish accent. (Tree-Shaka, Leatha-Face, Car-Raca, etc)

And then Twilight asked. "Well, do you want to pick your own name?"

_END OF MONTAGE_

The Ork looked over at a mirror in Twilight's castle, and slowly traced a finger across one of his scars.

...Slave...Plaything...Mon'Keigh. These are the only names he has ever known...and one other.

"...Greenskin." The ponies started at the raspy guttural voice, it was the first time he had spoke.

"Huh, G-Greenskin? Isn't that another name for your race?" Twilight asked.

"When dem Drukhari Gitz called me dat, it remoinded me dat I waz still an Ork...dey stopped when dey figured dat out... it's been a loooong toime...since I felt loike an Ork...even a wimpy one who don' wanna foight." The Ork, Greenskin, lamented.

Twilight had to struggle not breathe a sigh of relief when he said that he didn't want to fight. Fluttershy, however, stepped forward with a look of pity on her face.

"You're safe here. I don't know if you'll ever believe me but it's true, nocreature is going to hurt you here." No sooner had Fluttershy said this...did Aries walk in.

**_Author's Note:_**

Welp, there's my first attempt at a montage...and probably my last.

Yeah, I could've done a whole arc about Greenskin(temporary name) fitting in with Equestria, but the next two or three chapters is going to be about Aries overcoming the doubt Sombra placed in his heart, followed by a retelling of Frenemies...and then we get to the good stuff.

And before anyone bites me over Mon'Keigh, that is _not_ the Elder word for humans, it actually translates to 'lower lifeforms', basically making it the Eldar equivalent of Xenos.

That's...all I got for right now, If you can guess the DC reference, you win an Internet cookie.


	8. Chapter 8: A Talk With Aries

**_Chapter 8: A Talk With Aries_**

_Earlier That Morning_

"Thank you for helping me keep that freak at bay. I'll try to figure out how to use my new power properly as soon as I can so I can get back to work." Said Yellow Jacket to Aries. True to Luna's prophecy, Aries had to face the Fallen Angel, as he dubbed him, numerous times while Yellow Jacket dreamed of the trauma she endured during the Awakening.

"Patience is a virtue, you cannot hasten your recovery." Aries said in parting as the horn less Unicorn faded from the Dream realm, waking up.

As the dream faded, Aries found that his PDF was in no need of assistance, he had taught them well.

_...Any last words, heretic__? _The words of the false Emperor created by Sombra echoed in his mind. He couldn't shake them from his thoughts, he couldn't see the witch's deception in the Emperor's eyes. It was just so real.

"...Troubled?" Aries turned to the sound of Luna's voice. She seemed...odd. Like she had witnessed something troubling, perhaps a dream of what could be Equestria's future should Chaos return.

"I will not have this conversation more than once, and since you've made it clear that I'll be forced to explain myself to Rainbow Dash, you will have to wait." Aries replied.

Luna exhaled through her nostrils. "Circumstances have ensured that I will be occupied during that time, but very well. In the meantime, do you wish to dream? We've still another hour or so of work before the late sleepers are no longer our priority."

"...Istvaan. Let me fight beside my brothers." Aries said. With a nod, Luna's horn began to glow.

_An Hour Later_

Luna waved goodbye to the volunteers as she prepared to depart. Aries walked behind her as she did. "...Why did you do that?"

Luna stopped waving, but did not face him yet. "It was only a dream, and it's what should've happened."

Aries said nothing more of his dream...in which, Captain Ehrlen's suicidal charge was victorious against all odds, and Aries slayed Angron in single combat.

"So, are you ready for your talk with Rainbow Dash?" Luna asked, finally facing him.

"...I'm ready to be done with it." Aries replied, causing Luna to supress a giggle.

The two departed the Royal Guard Training Grounds that has become the PDF's headquarters. Aries made his way to a restaurant in Canterlot while Luna teleported to her own destination.

Waiting for Aries at the restaurant was not only Rainbow Dash, but two Unicorns that had been set against him by Sombra, one of whom he now realized had an injury similar to Yellow Jacket's.

The War Hound sat himself down. Rainbow Dash broke the ice immediately. "Did you clear your head?"

"...No. The Witch's trickery yet plagues me." Aries answered, seeing no reason to hide what he saw.

The ponies seemed confused by his choice of words, but otherwise understood. "It's okay to be afraid, and I get that you need to ignore your fears in a fight if you want to win, but the fight's over. If you keep it to yourself, it'll tear you apart."

Aries looked at the Unicorn who spoke, the one with a broken horn. Her eyes were full of regret and pain, and she carried herself like a soldier. "Who are you?"

"I am known as Tempest Shadow. I'm not going to pretend that my story compares to yours but...I've been here before. And when I arrived here, I didn't have anypony who was willing to help me, and that led me down a dark path... until Princess Twilight pulled me back." The Unicorn explained.

"Hmph. Very well, let's be done with this." And thus, Aries explained the vision Sombra had shown him, and what it meant to him.

"I had made peace with the fact that what I was doing went against the Imperial Truth, and I have made no attempt to hide that I only aided Equestria to vanquish a greater enemy to the Imperium. But now, all I can think about is the Emperor declaring me a heretic for my actions...And what I could do to prevent this prophecy." Aries lamented.

"You mean...stop helping us?" Rainbow Dash inquired fearfully.

"...I don't know." Aries confessed.

The table was speechless for a long time. Rainbow Dash broke the silence. "W-well...I-I don't know what to say to that. I know you're not the biggest fan of someone who doubts your Emperor. But thanks for sharing."

_Someone who doubts the Emperor. _Aries could see how badly Rainbow Dash was holding back, even without that line. Of course they wouldn't understand.

"For a human to doubt the Emperor is heresy. But you're either Xenos, or worse still, a Daemon, so what else could you do? I have heeded your request and have no further business here. Goodbye." Aries rose to walk away, but Tempest and the other Unicorn rose to stop him.

"A-Actually sir, we're reporting to you under orders from Princess Celestia...this...should've been done Yesterday but...things got _complicated_." The other Unicorn said.

"Then report and be quick about it." Aries answered without hesitation while his astartes mind used it's transhuman multitasking abilities to berate him for completely forgotting that he was, in fact, supposed to have done that.

"Yes, ahem, I am Chancellor Neighsay. Formally head of the Equestrian Education Association, I now wish to serve in the Planetary Defense Force against an enemy that is, undoubtedly, far more threatening than a lack of common knowledge." The unnamed Unicorn explained.

"And I have been wondering the lands outside Equestria where such practices as slavery is common and making them...less common. But now that a greater threat looms over my home, I'll do whatever is necessary to defend it." Tempest explained.

The 12th Legion has had a very hated history with slavery. Aries found his respect for this pony rising. "A senior member of the PDF lost her horn in battle with an astartes sorcerer during the Awakening. Report to our HQ and find her address, help her master her Warpborn powers."

Tempest was again confused by the choice of words, but nonetheless nodded. She departed while Aries turned his attention to Neighsay.

The Unicorn seemed like an underhanded sort, but one who thought of himself as a necessary evil, Aries knew how to use him."While Chaos' presence in the Dream Realm has weakened, it is possible that this is simply to throw us off the scent of other cultists that weren't involved with the initial attack. That, and Sombra's assault on the Crystal Empire has me concerned. I want you to investigate any potential threats, possible Cultists or local villains, and report them to me." Aries ordered.

Neighsay saluted and departed, and Aries took his leave.

Rainbow Dash watched him go. She wanted to tell that anyone who thought the way his Emperor thought was wrong, evil even, but she knew in her heart that doing so would only make the War Hound her enemy...even if he didn't kill her, which was a big if.

Aries paused on his way back to the PDF's HQ. He had grown accustomed with feeling lost in Equestria, but he nonetheless hated the feeling of not knowing what to do.

Training the Xenos, or Daemons, (he _really_ needed to figure that out) would make him feel like he was doing something to spite Chaos, but now it only felt like heresy...which it was...but was it?

Aries could swear that he felt the Nails biting into his brain, but it was worse than that. He was simply...uncertain.

"My my, you _do_ need some help." Aries expected to find another pony behind him, but the voice to something... peculiar.

It had the body of a serpent, the head of a horse, the talon of a raptor, the paw of a lion, the hoof of a horse, a reptilian foot claw, and wings, one leather and one feathered.

"...Are you an ally to Equestria?" Aries asked the only question that mattered...though he had several.

"Oh yes, I'm honestly a little wounded that the others never told you about me. Though, they probably assumed you'd misunderstand." The creature said in a voice that screamed arrogance.

"Misunderstand what exactly?" Aries asked him.

"That I'm a spirit of chaos and disharmony." It answered.

"The servants of Chaos are far more disturbing than the likes of you, I would not have mistaken you for such a being." As soon as Aries said this, the creature's smile vanished in cadence with the sound of shattering glass emanating from it's head.

It's formally upturned face now stared at the War Hound with an unamused expression. "Allow me to rephrase that."

The creature snapped it's fingers, and in a flash of light...Aries was an Earth Pony with the War Hound's insignia as his Cutie Mark. "I _am_ a spirit of chaos and disharmony. The mistake you would've made is believing that I'm affiliated with those _imbeciles_ who wouldn't know what _real_ chaos was if it smacked them in the head."

Aries, who had just come to terms with what was happening, attempted to attack the creature that _dared_ to transform him so, only for the creature to wrap it's serpentine body around the War Hound's own while continuing it's incessant babbling. "I mean _seriously_, when do you ever _plan_ chaos? It just happens. And Khorne? Khorne even has 'Honesty' among his virtues. And don't even get me started on Nurgle, that's as far away from chaos as you can get."

The creature waited for a reply, but all he got were the grunts and strains as Aries kept trying to fight back. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

"RELEASE ME DAEMON!! AND RESTORE MY HUMANITY THIS INSTANT!!!" Aries shouted in a far lighter voice.

The creature rolled it's eyes, but complied with a snap of it's fingers.

The instant he was a Space Marine again, Aries drew Warp Eater with the intent to end this creature's existence. Though the fact that it floated overhead and out of reach made doing so difficult. "And it's not 'Daemon', it's Discord."

Aries searched for any means by which he may slay this hated foe. A tree stood nearby. He ran to it and leapt, grabbing one of it's branches and pulling himself onto it before kicking off and falling through the air a mad flurry of slashes that might've struck Discord...if he hadn't floated out the way the minute Aries climbed the tree. "Really?"

Aries roared in frustration. "FACE ME IN BATTLE THAT I MAY DESTROY YOU COWARD!!!"

"Oh? Like how you wish to destroy our little pony friends because they weren't born as hairless apes who's most defining trait is destroying anything they don't understand rather than, oh I don't know,_trying_ to understand it?" Discord inquired.

"YOU DARE TO MOCK HUMANITY!?" Aries shouted.

"I dare to mock everything, _battle-puppy_." Discord retorted with a sneer.

"DAMN YOU!!!" Aries shouted, still frantically trying to some manner of killing this thing, but finding none.

"Oh no, I'm pretty _you're_ the one who's damned." Discord said.

Aries did not reply. Shaken as he was at having spent half a minute as something inhuman, the absence of the Nails allowed a swift return of his sanity, and the realization that the only way to beat this bastard was not to play his game.

Aries turned to walk away, only to find himself levitating into the air. "Oh alright, I'm done playing games. So, do you want my help or not?"

"I want _nothing_ to do with you that doesn't end in your death." Aries declared.

"Well, lucky you. This little stunt just might kill me." Discord said nothing as he, with the ease of tearing wet paper, burrowed into the Warp with Aries trapped in the coils of his tail.

He slithered through the Immaterium at such speeds that neither Aries nor the horrors of the Warp had a chance to comprehend each other as they passed. It seemed to go on for less than a minute before Discord suddenly shouted "TAKE FIVE AND TALK TO YOUR GRANDSON!!"

Discord unceremoniously dropped Aries, who crashed into the not-ground of the Immaterium, sprang to his feet ready for a fight...and found himself face to face with the Emperor of Mankind.

"...huh...wu-wha..." It took Aries nearly as long as a mortal civilian discovering war to comprehend what was happening. Though to his credit, the Emperor was almost equally confused, though he recovered far quicker.

The Emperor's eyes left Aries as confusion traded place with annoyed understanding. The War Hound followed his master's gaze and found Discord with his back pressed against a psychic shield of his own creation holding back a numberless horde of Warpspawn.

**"...Take five and talk to your grandson...It is not often that I am taken _completely_ by surprise, but that being has managed it."**

"P-PAY NO HEED TO THAT WRETCHED ABOMINATION!! YOU OWE ME NONE OF YOUR TIME MY LORD!!!" Aries shouted as he fell to a knee and quite possibly became the first astartes to ever be so thoroughly _embarrassed_.

The Master of Mankind returned his attention to Aries. **"I have done naught but hold this horde at bay for the last ten thousand years. And tempted as I am to seize this opportunity to leave the Golden Throne, that Xenos would undoubtedly allow Terra to fall if I attempted such."**

Aries' hatred for Discord now threatened to eclipse his hatred for Angron. The spawn of Khorne had spared no detail regarding the Emperor's final battle against Horus Lupercal, and the consequences that befell the Imperium:now the embodiment of all that the Emperor sought to destroy. And here was an opportunity to undo all that damage, so close and so easily taken away by this fool.

**"That _fool_ is a being older and more powerful than myself. You would be wise not to underestimate him Aries."** The War Hound was stunned. Though he didn't know why, of course the Emperor could read his mind...and know his sins.

The Emperor's face softened.**"Your sins are miniscule compared to my own. And all of the Imperium joins you in your doubt."**The Emperor waved his taloned hand, and Aries was granted a vision of the Primarch Roboute Gulliman..._negotiating with Eldar_.

**"Though old wounds prevent a true alliance, the Imperium and the Aeldari draw closer and closer to putting their differences aside as their blood continues to stain the same swords. And even if such a thing comes to pass, even that may not be enough to prevent mankind's extinction."** The Emperor explained.

"...Wh-what can be done?" Aries asked.

**"I do not know...but with the numerous heretics who use my name to execute good men, I see no reason to slay you for using what little you have to defy Chaos. You are forgiven and set free. You did not fail me Aries...I failed humanity."** The Emperor lowered his head as he said the last sentence. Those words...they somehow cut Aries deeper than hearing the Emperor call him a heretic. Why? Because even if Aries died a traitor's Imperium lived on...right?

"...No." The Emperor returned his gaze to the War Hound as he rose from his knee. "No. I am _not_ free. My duty isn't done."

**"What more can you do? You are marooned on a primitive Xenos world. And if I let you return to the Imperium, they would not accept you. You would die needlessly."** The Emperor explained to him.

"On Istvaan, I gave up my life for you. On Equestria, I will give up my soul. I will devout myself to not only defending these Xenos from the Great Enemy, but in teaching them how to bring the fight to them, to the Imperium." Aries answered.

**"And what would that accomplish but to get you and the equines killed?"**The Emperor inquired.

"It will take the pressure off the Imperium and allow them to recover. We will not accomplish much, and even if we prevail, it will only ensure that Witch's prophecy comes true, but SO BE IT!" Aries shouted defiantly.

**"You would do this? Sell your soul to Xenos and their God for an Imperium that will burn you as it would your father?" **The Emperor asked of him.

"I am not meant for the new world that will be born from the ashes. I am only meant to burn this one down." Aries replied.

The Emperor smiled with pride at the War Hound. **"Very well, but as you give your soul to this Spirit of Harmony, see that she knows that I _will_ take it back someday."**

Aries nodded, and would've said more, but. "That's nice. But I gave you five minutes and you took ten. I CAN'T HOLD BACK MUCH LONGER!!" Discord shouted as his barrier began to crack like glass along with his body.

The Emperor wasn't fooled, he knew that this alien was far stronger than he was letting on, but he also knew that if _they_ had returned, then perhaps Aries would be more victorious than even He expected, so he played along."Very well spirit. Take this wayward son from my sight until I may reclaim his lost soul."

"DONE!" Discord shouted as he sprang at Aries like a bolt of lightning.

The War Hound's last sight was the Emperor forming a golden barrier with which to hold off the endless horde that fell upon Him like a flood, and then he was speeding through the Warp again.

**_Author's Note:_**

So yeah, pardon the randomness, but random is really the only way to write Discord. Speaking of which, Discord is more than his canonical self in this fanfic. Anyone care to guess what the Emperor knows him to be?

And as for the Emperor, I had the idea for this chapter running around my brain for awhile now. I hope I did it justice. If there's anything I need to add, remove or fix in this impromptu therapy session, let me know in the comments below.

Also, the reason I got it done this quickly is because it's been burning a hole in my pocket for months now, in case you were wondering.

Okay, that's all I got, I'll introduce Aries to Greenskin in the next chapter, see you then.


	9. Chapter 9: Aries' Assault

**_Chapter 9: Aries' Assault_**

Aries was released from Discord's tail the instant they exited the Warp.

Surveying his surroundings revealed that while they had returned to Equestria, they were not where they had been before.

"Why have you brought me here?" Aries demanded. They had landed in Ponyville, in fact, they were right in front of Twilight's castle.

"Well, it's not like the PDF can't function without you. And even _you_ need to take a break sometime." Discord explained.

Thinking about it, Aries agreed with him. He nodded...and cut Discord's head off.

The Draconaquis' ears transformed into wings likened to those on his back, and his body remained standing. "...Still mad about the Earth Pony thing?" The flying head asked.

"Yes...but now that I have punished your heresy...thank you." Aries deactivated Warp Eater and mag-locked it to his thigh as he proceeded to Twilight's castle.

Discord reattached himself as the War Hound entered the castle proper. _Hmm, I suppose I could warn him...but where's the fun in that?_

Aries was proceeding to the room he slept in when the need for it arose (one time prior) when he heard voices. Twilight's, Fluttershy's and one other that sounded familiar.

He decided that he would let the Aliens(regardless of their true nature, he simply cannot bring himself to think of them as Daemons) know that he was among them, in case they needed to know of his location.

He went to the door the voices came from and opened it...Aries looked at the Ork...the Ork looked at Aries...the ponies had frozen in fear.

"...A-Aries...I can explain..." Twilight offered.

"...Those wounds were inflicted by a Dark Eldar. It is not first time that their alien prisoners welcomed the 12th Legion as happily as the humans we came to rescue, knowing very well that they would not survive." Aries explained.

The War Hound turned his head from the Greenskin to Twilight. "I assume you do not wish to kill it?"

Twilight was dumbstruck by the War Hound's reaction. "...No, we...we want to help him... you're taking this...remarkably well."

"Are you familiar with a being named Discord?" Aries asked.

Twilight and Fluttershy went from confused to concerned in an instant. "He didn't..._brainwash_ you, did he?"

"No, but...I have had a long day, even by my standards. I came here to rest, not to fight. The Ork _will_ turn on you. It's in their nature. And I have told you of the fungal spores that ensure more of their kind will be born by the hundreds within Ponyville someday. _That_ will be your teacher. The lesson: Mercy is not a weakness, it is a sign of power. One you are not strong enough to wield. The blood that beast and it's spawn spill will be on your han...hooves." Aries explained.

He took one last at the Ork. It stared back at him with emotionless eyes, uncaring of it's own fate...for now. "Hmph." He turned back to Twilight. "At least the experience will serve to harden your kind, though they will probably execute you for causing the destruction." And with that, he left the room. Leaving Twilight just as mentally exhausted as he was.

On the other side of the room, still standing next to the mirror, Greenskin kept a neutral face. _Dey fink I'm stupid. Dat humie...he'z gonna try an' make me muck up so dey can turn on me an' say it'z moi fault. I see it comin' a moile away._

The Ork was pulled from it's thoughts by Fluttershy tapping a hoof on him. "...If he's right, we won't blame you. We know what Orks are like. Let's go home. It's been a long day for Everycreature."

Greenskin nodded. He knew better than to let them know that he was onto them. _Dey're lettin' stay wiff da noicest one dat lives far away from da uvvaz so I'll be tempted ta stomp'er an zogg myself. Noice try._

_The Next Morning_

Luna had visited Aries briefly as he slept that night, but he had sent her away. He didn't wish to dream, only to rest, and to meditate on what had become his fate.

He knew what he wanted to do, but he had no idea how to do it. He was a single Tactical Marine, he had no means of teaching these primitives a means of traveling the stars or building war machines.

It was possible that he could find a means of explaining the concept to ponies with the proper Cutie-Marks...he wanted to drive his head through a wall for thinking like that, but found that the ridiculous idea had some weight behind it.

And so, he decided that this was going to be his next objective, Equestria had a respectable defense for the time being, now he would work on offense.

With this in mind, he awoke with the intent of enacting this plan. Only to find he already had a window of opportunity to do so.

"Uh, good morning Aries. I'm sorry to bother you, but the Princesses wanted to see you on a special matter. They wouldn't explain what?" The message came from Twilight's serf, Spike, and saw Aries and Twilight's friends traveling to Canterlot.

As always, Aries tuned out their friendly chatter...until a topic of slight interest came up. "So how's the Ork doing?"

Fluttershy shot a nervous glance to Aries. Though he was listening, he hadn't turned to face them or given any sign that he was paying attention.

Fluttershy returned her attention to Pinkie Pie. "He's...the same. Apparently Luna had to help him through a nightmare about us turning on him."

"_What!?_ after all we've done for him, including accepting the possibility of him betraying us, he thinks _we_ would betray _him!?_" Rarity asked.

"Apparently, the Dark Eldar did the same thing. They would have one of their own pretend to be his friend for years and years only to turn on him and..._laugh_ about it." Fluttershy said with barely contained rage.

Aries felt her disgust as his own. He had no pity for the Greenskin, but he would tolerate a hundred Orks over a single Dark Eldar purely because the Orks would cause less suffering to humanity.

He tuned them out after that. The Ork's current mindset, and possibility of aggression, was all that interested him. Ideas on how to help it most certainly did not.

_Canterlot_

An hour or so later, they arrived at Celestia and Luna's Throne Room. Waiting for them were the ruling Monarchs, Twilight's brother...wearing an old aluminium crown for whatever reason, and a Pegasus stallion that Aries did not recognize, save for the manner in which he carried himself: a soldier.

A gasp from Twilight followed by a scowl at Shining Armor told him that there was a story behind the aluminum crown, but he did not care to hear it. "You requested me?"

"Yes, after the Awakening, it was decided that Security required a _dramatic_ increase. While we wanted Ponyville to receive the first enhancements, our laws demanded a vote between representatives of our provinces...all of whom chose Canterlot." Celestia said with a voice that was sad and proud in equal measures.

"It is not that they care more for our safety sister..." Luna began whilst wrapping a comforting foreleg around Celestia's back. "It is that without us, day and night will cease to cycle. I'm sure you remember the catastrophe that brings."

Aries was curious, but not enough to ask. Nevertheless, this rose Celestia's spirits a bit. "Ahem, to that end: two security systems have been put into place, one to prevent an infiltration, and one to prevent an assault. We called you here to test the latter's effectiveness against powerful foes."

"Hmm, I actually wished to speak to you about something similar. Seeing what you already have will serve to show me how to improve your capabilities." Aries explained.

The Princesses then conversed with Twilight: who had evidently been summoned to test the infiltration counter-measures, while the Pegasus soldier came up to Aries.

"I am Flash Magnus: One of the Pillars of Old Equestria, and the designer of the security you'll be testing. If there's any problems, I will correct them." The Pegasus said to the War Hound before indicating with his wing for Aries to walk with him.

"...Magnus, the name of the Primarch of the 15th Legion, though you carry yourself more like a member of the 7th." Aries said aloud.

"I actually have a bit in common with _you_ sir. An incident with an evil spirit ended with me and the other Pillars being trapped in a pocket dimension for a thousand years until Twilight and her friends got us out. Been catching up with society ever since." Flash replied.

Aries nodded. "The purpose of this walk is to lead me away from the defenses that I will be trying to breach?"

"Yes sir. They're being set up as we speak. Your next trip to the Throne Room won't be easy...hopefully." He said the last word in jest. Aries hoped his confidence was justified.

_Outside Canterlot Castle_

Aries had been instructed to wait a few more minutes as final preparations were made for his attack. He had paced the same three meters until Flash Magnus returned with an old Unicorn by his side.

"Alright, everypony's all set to keep you out. There's just one thing left to take care of." Flash Magnus turned to the Unicorn, who approached Aries and bowed.

"I am Starswirl The Bearded. Prior to the incident Flash told you of, I was Celestia's and Luna's teacher in the ways of magic." The Unicorn said.

Aries felt the introduction was unnecessary, but responded in kind. "Greetings, I am Aries of the War Hounds. I trust knowing your name was not the last thing?"

Starswirl shook his head. "For the purpose of both security systems, I placed a means of preventing unauthorized magic. I wish to see it's effect on your weapon, and also to enchant it with a protective sheath that will prevent you from cutting anypony."

Aries obliged the request, drawing Warp Eater and activating it...the power field, born from a magical artefact, was disabled.

The Unicorn casted it's magic upon the blade, giving it a silver glow. "I will remove the spell upon the end of your assault. Until then, your weapon is blunt."

The Unicorn bowed and walked away while Magnus took over the briefing. "Everypony is instructed to treat even a tap of your blade as being taken out. I'd rather you didn't hit them too hard after hearing what you're capable of. Good luck."

With that, Aries was left to begin his attack.

Charging straight for the gate, Aries found four Unicorns waiting with horns aglow. He also took notice of the large ballistas that began to train on him.

He sprinted to engage the Unicorns, moving too fast for the ballistas to track him...until the Unicorns halted him with their magic.

Their skills with the Warp were not as great as many, it took all four of them to slow him down, but it allowed to ballistas to fire.

The first bolt shattered on his shoulder. "AIM TO KILL!!" Aries shouted when he realized what they were firing warning shots.

Unsure at first, the second ballista still fired, the bolt shattering against the War Hound's chest plate.

He was closing in on the Unicorns, who were beginning to sweat and strain against him...until one of them lowered his horn before attempting to raise it as it glowed brighter, resulting in the War Hound feeling an unnatural force trying to lift him into the air.

Another ballista round struck him in the head, no damage. But the other three Unicorns copied their ally.

Aries stopped moving altogether as he was lifted an inch off the ground, and then another, and another.

Aries' limbs moved easier now, leaving him to theorize that they focusing on his chest...big mistake.

The final ballista bolt soared towards him. He grabbed it, spared a half-second to calculate that it had been aimed at his neck, and threw it at a Unicorn backwards.

The blunt wooden pole collided with the pony's hoof, not tripping it but causing enough pain and shock that it lost focus.

The others buckled under the unexpected strain, but didn't drop him.

He threw Warp Eater like a knife at a second Unicorn, but the first one caught it.

Aries was genuinely impressed. He knew that their weapons couldn't hurt him, but the fact that they were able to apprehend him was commendable.

The Unicorn that captured Warp Eater in its telekinesis sent it back at Aries. Aries decided that he would accept the loss, as in a true combat situation, the power field would've been functional...and that's when it happened.

The other Unicorns collapsed from exhaustion. Aries fought the instinct to catch himself and fell on his battery-pack.

This should've allowed Warp Eater to soar over his head, but it stopped in mid-air in time with a gasp from the last functioning defender.

The sword turned to face Aries and stabbed downward. Aries rolled out of the way, rolled back, and grabbed the sword.

The Unicorn tried to pull it away from him, but Aries allowed his grip on Warp Eater to hoist him up before charging full speed at the last guard.

The guard gave out a shriek, identifying itself as a mare, and fired a blast of magic at the War Hound.

Though the blast was consistent, it did not possess the power of even a lasgun. Aries charged right through it.

The mare seized up and closed her eyes. She opened them when Aries tapped Warp Eater's blade onto her, lightly. "This concludes our battle."

The guard blinked as she comprehended what was happening, and then lowered her head with defeated sigh. "We screwed up again."

Aries was all too familiar with the abhorrent state of Equestria's military, but found no fault here. "This defeat was not yours, if you had better support, you would've defeated me. I will advise superior armaments to replace the ballistas after I've finished my assault, to determine if there are other defenses that are adequate as is."

The War Hound's words saw the mournful look on the mare replaced by a smile that most mortal humans would've considered cute. "Well, since this is just a training exercise, I won't make you torture me to find out that our badges open up the doors. I know you could probably brake it down, but I'd rather you didn't. It would be expensive and time consuming to repair it."

The Unicorn gave Aries her enchanted badge and saluted him before helping her exhausted allies to their feet.

Aries opened the doors to the castle and proceeded through. Pegasai were waiting in ambush above the door, but they underestimated their opponent's reflexes, as many unfamiliar with astartes do.

Aries proceeded down the hall...and came across a peculiar obstacle.

On the other end of the hall was a Unicorn he had seen in the streets of Ponyville, a mare bearing a white coat, a mane of two different shades of bright blue and violet glasses covering her eyes.

She stood at the end of the hall with some sort of control system before her, Royal Guard Earth Ponies flanking her with crossbows ready and waiting for some sort of signal.

It was obviously a trap, and while he would advise better concealment, the War Hound's immediate priority was testing the ability to _stop_ a Space Marine. Taking him by surprise can be rehearsed when they knew how to take him.

Aries charged into the obvious trap, noting a change to the material of the walls. He expected hidden crossbows or poisoned darts...he hadn't expected this.

The mare pressed an activation rune on her console, resulting in the ceremic concealment plates shattering like glass as hidden speakers erupted in a violent cacophony of noise that actually drove Aries to his knees.

The Earth Ponies fired their crossbows, no effect. Aries switched off the audio receptors in his helmet, deafening himself to the cacophony, and resumed his charge.

The Earth Ponies couldn't reload their crossbows even once before Aries closed the distance and eliminated them.

The mare at the console switched the noise off after being eliminated, obviously confused about Aries' swift recovery.

The astartes removed his helmet with an audible hiss, the mare wincing at the sight of his scarred face. "The helmet is sealed to the point that I could survive the void of space for a small time. I can only hear and speak through it because of speakers and vox communicators that I can turn off if needed. But the fact that I was required to do such a thing speaks volumes. You've done well."

The mare nodded her thanks, uncharacteristically quiet for one of her kind, perhaps mute.

Aries did not voice his curiosity, simply proceeding to the next objective.

It was the same everywhere he went. While Unicorn witchcraft, or clever tricks could put him on the back foot, the Equestrians lacked the means of putting him down. He was more certain than ever that the invention of greater weapons was necessary.

Not possessing a means of opening the doors to the Throne Room as easily as those of the castle, Aries charged through them shoulder first.

Seizing the shock and confusion of his violent entrance, Aries targeted the Unicorns first...or so he thought.

As soon as he charged, the War Hound found himself suspended in midair by none other than Celestia, who did _not_ exert herself while restraining him.

Luna flew up and touched her horn to his head. "And this is me forcing you to sleep. Do I really need to do it, or will this conclude the exercise?"

"I yield." Aries said flatly.

Celestia lowered him down. She, her sister, Starswirl, Flash Magnus, and Shining Armor came up to him for a debriefing. "Heh, it was probably hopeless to think you wouldn't pull it off, but you took longer than I thought...am I allowed to be proud of that?"

"Indeed, I hadn't expected your defenders to perform as well as they did. But the reason for their failure is exactly what I expected it to be: lack of effective weapons. You can hold me off for scant seconds, or even immobilize me. But without a means of finishing me off, you only delay the inevitable.

"Yes. That...is a problem that comes from living peaceful lives protected by willing champions." Luna lamented. "What do you suggest?"

"You used my memories of power swords wielded by my brothers to create one for me. I want you to use my memories of other weapons to teach capable ponies how to create versions that can be used by your kind. Firearms, artillery, war machines." Aries explained.

A look of shock fell upon those present. The two Equestrian soldiers turned to the Princesses, who turned to each other.

After a silent conversation between siblings, the Alicorns nodded in agreement.

"Very well. We must permit Twilight to test our infiltration countermeasures, but I shall visit you tonight should you choose to dream." Luna said.

"I shall. Purely for this reason." Aries answered. With his task complete, had the spell on Warp Eater removed and returned to the PDF to train them.

**_Author's Note:_**

And that's that. To start off, the reason Aries didn't do this before is because back then, he only intended to defy Chaos until he died again, he never expected to make it this far.

And now that he believes the ponies could stand against Chaos, and has the Emperor's blessing, he's going to develop Equestria's military might as much as possible.

We won't see too much of it this Volume, as we're following the events of Season 9, but Volume 3 is going to switch from 40k getting used to Equestria, to Equestria getting used to 40k.

It will also introduce a third Element Bearer, but he'll be in on the loop from the word go.

Also, the reason he's so relaxed about Greenskin is because he was A: turned into a pony, B: dragged through the Warp to meet the Emperor, and C: had the Emperor say, in no uncertain terms, that he had failed humanity. Even astartes have a limit before they're just _done_.

Okay, so that is going to be the last heavy focus on Aries until the main battle at the end. (Which will be bigger than last Volume's) And the next chapter will revolve around Greenskin.

And in closing, a reply to a review by The Reaper of Valhalla (any time I send a PM on this site, it _never_ goes through, it'll send but you'll never see it. So for future reference, if you want to ask me something, just drop a comment on one of my YouTube videos. doesn't matter which one, I'll answer any questions as soon as I get off work, that is my first priority) Not quite, think..._older..._

Okay, that's all I got, see you next time.


	10. Chapter 10:The Waaagh! of Friendship

**_Chapter 10: The Waaagh! of Friendship_**

Greenskin never had anything but nightmares, so you can imagine his surprise when one of those 'Bony' gitz popped into his head and changed his dream with some of her Weirdboy stuff...he didn't like Weirdboy stuff. _Especially_ when it didn't look bad, that's always the worst stuff those Weirdboyz do...cause it gets you when don't expect it.

That was last night's weirdness...but this time, things got a lot weirder.

He was alone. No boniez, no Drukhari gitz, Nothing...and it was cold.

Orks normally don't get bothered by such things. Whether they're standing on a planet with no atmosphere, or if a humie sets them on fire. But Greenskin was _cold_.

He held his arms tight to his trembling chest, breathing out small clouds. All he could think about was how cold it was.

There was a light, a green light. He turned to it...and felt a joy he never felt before.

Far into the distance burned a great green fire. It had to be the size of a Squiggoth, and he could hear Orks screaming their battle cry...it had been so long since he heard it, he couldn't even remember what it sounded like.

He was about to run straight to that fire and jump in feet first...but that's when _they_ showed up.

The only warning was a sound not unlike a screaming child. Greenskin hit the dirt the minute he heard it. _Dem Drukhari Gitz!_

He saw them now, dozens of them in their spikey speeding things racing each other in circles. They were too far away to see him...but they were between him and the green fire.

Greenskin picked himself up and sighed. There was no way he was gonna risk it.

As he was mourning his loss...he felt something...something _warm_.

Greenskin realized that he could see his shadow now, and that it was surrounded by a pinkish purple light.

Turning around introduced Greenskin to a new fire. It was tiny thing, and it was quiet with no Orks and no war crys, but it was right there, and only had the same six boniez that have been tending to him since he showed up.

The boniez stepped away from the fire, giving him a path right to it.

The Ork moved slowly towards the fire. He felt warmer...safer. He reached out his hand.

...enskin...Greenskin?" The Ork snorted as he snapped awake, years of muscle memory telling him not to make the Drukhari ask again.

You can imagine his disappointment when he realized it wasn't one of those Drukhari gitz, but Fluttershy.

He still found it strange that the boniez had Orky names...sort of...In fact he was pretty sure that they were fake names meant to earn his trust, though their names did fit them.

Fluttershy had stepped back when he started like that. "Oh, I'm sorry to wake you, but it's past noon and, I was hoping I could try and help you feel better again."

Greenskin sighed, some quiet voice inside of him told him to tell the bony to sodd off, but he wasn't going to open himself up to a punishment. "Awroight. Where to?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Well, after reading through the codex again, we decided to try and find out what kind of Boy you are...did I say that right?"

Greenskin nodded. He only had vague of Orks being actual Orks, but he could remember that every title ended in Boy. Storm Boyz, Mek Boyz, Slugga Boyz, Shoota Boyz, Pain Boyz...he didn't know why, but that last one reminded him of the Drukhari Gitz.

_Twilight's Castle_

"So, do you three think you can do it?" Twilight asked.

"Sure, it'll be easy." Said Apple Bloom, she and the other crusaders were brought up to speed in the hopes that they could help Greenskin find his place...preferably in one the less combative roles.

"So, what do you girls wanna try first?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well, since he's going to be a fighter no matter what, I think the easiest to start with is the Slugga, Shoota, and Storm Boy." Scootaloo said.

"Twilight wanted to _avoid_ the violent ones." Apple Bloom deadpanned.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Scootaloo came back agitated.

"A Mek Boy. I saw some pamphlets sayin' that Aries wanted ponies with Cutie-Marks about buildin' stuff to help him make some fancy new weapons for the next time Chaos attacks us. If Greenskin helps out, it might help the two of'em become friends." Apple Bloom explained.

"That's not bad. I guess a Killa Kan _would_ be pretty useful if another invasion happens. I was thinking about the Goff Rokka, in case he doesn't want to fight." Sweetie Belle said.

As soon as the fillies agreed on the order they would try their ideas, Fluttershy and Greenskin came into the castle. "WOAH!! WHAT IS THAT _SMELL_!?" Scootaloo shouted.

Greenskin turned around to leave, but Fluttershy stopped him. "Sorry about that, he can't help it. So, is everypony ready?" The Pegasus asked. The three fillies nodded, undeterred.

_Mek Boy_

Apple Bloom had brought the group over to a duo of very familiar logs of applewood. "Okay Greenskin, my friends and I are going to show you how to turn this log into a derby cart, and see if you can do the same."

The Ork nodded, but he thought they were crazy. Even Mek Boyz weren't _that_ good.

However, as the hours came and went, Greenskin learned what his foot tasted like.

The three fillies decided that he would never take to the idea if it didn't look Orky enough, so they built a wooden replica of an Ork War Trukk with stick-guns.

"Phew, sorry that took so long, but you should still be able to give it a try before sundown." Apple Bloom said.

The Ork strode over to the untouched log with full confidence that it could be done.

However, knowing that it could be done did not mean he could do it, for an Ork is born as an Ork is born, and Greenskin had not been born a Mek Boy.

He had sawed pieces off the log and thrown decorations and paint onto it. But he could only make it look like a piece of wood with paint and decorations on it.

Instinct born from experience soon caused a panic in Greenskin. If he failed, he would be- He was broken from the thought by a hoof upon him.

"Greenskin it's getting late. Let's try again tomorrow." Fluttershy said.

Greenskin looked at her like she grew a third eye. Pretending you wouldn't punish failure is one thing, but actually not doing it...they were _really_ trying to trick him.

The three runtz came up to them. "Maybe Mek Boy isn't you." The first one said with a giggle.

"Don't worry about it big guy. We went through hundreds of possible destinies before we found our calling as Cutie Mark Crusaders." The second one said.

"Yeah, we'll just try somethin' else tomorrow." The third one said.

Greenskin had his doubts, but he nodded and followed Fluttershy back to his tree.

_Greenskin's Dream_

The fire was warm and safe. Greenskin could still hear the Orks around the green fire, but he could also hear them Drukhari Gitz too.

He kept his eyes on them, allowing the fire to warm his back, and was ready to run and hide at the first sign that they were getting closer.

But for now, he was warmer...safer...just a little.

_Goff Rokka_

The CMCs employed the assistance of Octavia and DJPON3 for this next one. Neither of them were fond of Rock and Roll, but they knew how to strum a guitar and beat the drums.

The two played a basic breakdown, just the same five notes in a loop to give the Ork the idea.

He definitely liked it. It was the first time Fluttershy saw him smile, and he even swayed a little and shifted his feet around.

After the eighth loop, the musicians stopped and Octavia handed Greenskin the guitar.

Greenskin used one of his large outgrown fingernails as a pick and played a series of notes with no rhythm, like he was testing it out. But after a while, it became apparent that he didn't know how to make a rhythm come from the notes.

However, he seemed to be enjoying himself. The fact that he actually made sound convinced him that he was doing it right, and he started jumping around and stomping his feet in cadence to the isolated notes.

"Hmm hmm hmm, your friend seems to be enjoying himself Fluttershy. Why don't you let him keep the guitar, I'll pay full price, rather than rent it." Octavia said while watching the flailing Ork, DJPON3 nodding her approvement.

Fluttershy nodded her thanks while the CMCs joined Greenskin's stomp-off.

_The Dream Realm_

Luna had kept a close eye on Greenskin's dreams after the first one. She hadn't offered guidance, as the Ork was far from trusting.

But it would appear that she would finally be able to leave him be. He had pieced together that he can be warmer, and still watch for the Drukhari, if he moved to the other side of the fire and stuck his head out.

Luna would've told him that he only needs to stick his head out occasionally, rather than constantly craning his neck like that, but he wouldn't trust her.

She was about to leave it at that when her eyes lazily glided onto the green fire that she knew to represent the Ork Waaagh! as the fire Greenskin settled for was the Fire of Friendship ignited on Hearth's Warming Eve so long ago...an idea came to mind.

With a grin that Cozy Glow could admire, Luna flew over the Dark Eldar and fell towards the Waaagh!. Her powers over the Dream Realm clothing her in the image of an Ork mentioned by name in Twilight's codex: Ghazkull Thraka.

The fake Warlord landed with a thud, grabbing the Orks' attention before pointing her Power Klaw towards the Drukhari. **POINTY EADZ!! LET'Z STOMP'EM!!!**

The answer was loud and clear. **_WAAAGH!!_**

Greenskin watched as the Ork horde slaughtered the Drukhari Gitz before returning to their fire. He kept looking around for more of them, but as none appeared, he felt safe..._truly_ safe.

_Slugga Boy, Shoota Boy, or Storm Boy_

"Are you sure we can't try something else?" Sweetie asked, a little worried.

"Like what? A Pain Boy?" Scootaloo shot back.

"As much as I hate to say it, Scootaloo does have a point. Even Twilight said it was likely that we'd end up here, Orks _are_ meaner than Timber Wolves after all." Apple Bloom lamented.

Sweetie Belle still didn't like the idea that the only option left was what kind of weapon he would use to kill creatures, but she only translated her distaste further with a defeated sigh.

Fluttershy came up the hill with Greenskin and immediately looked worried. "Um, w-where did you three get all this?"

She was of course referring to the ax, crossbow, and rocket booster assembled on a table before them...she also began to understand why they were near the Everfree Forest and away from town.

"Twilight got'em from a friend of her brother's." Apple Bloom explained.

"Except for this. Rainbow Dash got it from the Dropouts. She wouldn't tell me how." Scootaloo explained while resting a hoof on the rocket.

"Is it safe?" Fluttershy asked.

Choosing her answer carefully, the Pegasus filly said: "Safer than an Ork Rokkit." It did not rid Fluttershy of her nervousness.

Before she could say anything, Greenskin left Fluttershy's side and examined the weapons.

He gave the rocket a test by smacking it with a closed fist. It immediately sped off into the woods and exploded. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief while Greenskin snorted in amusement.

The crossbow was next. He picked the weapon and pulled the trigger without aiming. It wasn't loaded, so nothing happened. He shrugged and dropped it.

Sweetie Belle was about to pick it up and explain how it works, but the Ork stepped on it and crushed it. Sweetie Belle stepped back.

Finally, he came to the ax. Unlike the Apple Family's wood ax, this was a battle ax made in the days of Griffonstone's glory when the Griffon army gave Equestria plenty of worry.

It was made as a two handed weapon, but Greenskin held it like a hatchet...and tested it on the table it and the other weapons had been laid out on, splitting it in half.

"Well, I guess he's just your average Slugga Boy after all." Sweetie Belle said.

Greenskin turned to them with a smile, one that quickly disappeared when he saw their expressions. Worry, concern, fear. "...Oi kan't keep it, kan Oi."

Fluttershy dropped her concern like a bad habit. "No, I-I mean YES! I told you that we would help turn you back to normal, even if...that means..."

Greenskin knew what it meant. He could keep his new Choppa, or he could keep his tree.

He liked that tree, but it couldn't chop things up. He turned to the forest that was right in front of him.

"...Fankz Fluddashoy." The bony looked at him with pinprick eyes. He had absolutely stunned her.

Greenskin took the first step...and he grew _cold_.

_Greenskin's Dream_

Greenskin had fallen asleep in the Everfree, and found himself back where his dreams had started, away from the smaller fire, but still closer to it than the green fire...that was open to him now.

Them Drukhari Gitz were still dead, and none had come to replace them, opening the way for him to join the other Orks...but it was a still a long walk.

_You are free to go._ Greenskin turned to the voice, to the small fire behind him. From it, emerged another bony, Twilight Sparkle, but she was different somehow.

"Who da Gork iz you?" Asked the Ork.

I _have gone by many names, the one favored by my little ponies is the Spirit of Harmony. _The bony answered.

"Armony? Wut dat?" Greenskin asked.

_I'm afraid that I cannot word the explanation in a manner you would understand, but that is not the question you're asking right now. You want to know which fire to choose, do you not?_

Greenskin was confused by the Spirit's choice of words, but he understood the question. "Do you know?"

_I cannot answer for you, but I can point out an answer you have not thought of._ The bony's horn started to glow, and Greenskin noticed a glow coming from him...two of them in fact.

Yelping as he looked down, Greenskin found two tiny fires inside of him, one pink/purple and one green.

After he finished freaking out about being able to see inside his chest, and freaking out about his chest being on firetwice, he asked the spirit: "Wut does dis mean?"

_It means that you carry the Magic of Friendship and the Ork Waaagh! inside of you, regardless of where you go from here._ The spirit explained.

Greenskin's eyes lit up. _Waaagh!..dat'z wut it sounds loike._ "So, Fluddashoy iz still moi...uh..."

_Your friend, yes._ The spirit confirmed.

"So, I can go be wiff uvva Orkz, an' still be friendz wiff her?" He asked.

The spirit could've tried to explain being friends in spirit, but knew the endeavor would be an exercise in futility. _No, the other Orks would kill her. You couldn't be with Orks and have friends...but you could have friends, and still be an Ork._

"But Orkz iz made for foighten, Boneyz don' foight." Greenskin said as a fact.

_Perhaps not. But several other creatures try to take advantage of that. So many, in fact, that trying to protect peace and harmony has time and again proven to be a war without end._ The spirit explained with a slight smile.

"...A Waaagh!...dat doesn't stop..." Greenskin found it difficult to remember how to close his mouth.

The spirit smiled wider now. _Even in spite of all that's happened to you, you're still an Ork. And your connection to Fluttershy proves that you're more than just one of the Boyz. I look forward to the day you truly find your place. But until then, war approaches Equestria in the form of villains from it's past, and Fluttershy will need your help._

As the Ork came to terms with what was said to him, he smiled.

His dream changed, he was back in front of the smaller fire with Fluttershy and the other boniez, including the three runtz, and some shadowy figures were approaching them.

The boniez got scared and started to back away, got Greenskin met them head-on. The pink/purple fire inside him stretching out to stay connected to similar fires inside the boniez, while the green fire built into an inferno and erupted out his throat. **_WAAAGH!!_**

**_Author's Note:_**

To start off, I _severely_ apologize for the tardiness of this chapter, I took it in two different directions before realizing that I couldn't make those plot lines work and erased it to start again, combine that with preparation for my upcoming Holiday Vacation, and it's just a big mess.

I have one week left before my vacation, and I will spend writing a one-shot Christmas Special set in the TTS universe, so this'll be the last post on Broken Beast until January, I'll see you all then.


	11. Chapter 11: With Frenemies Like These

**_Chapter 11: With Frenemies Like These... Part One_**

She could only scream as her flesh and chitin was warped, deformed, and reshaped in an unnatural and agonizing manner. And through it all... he laughed.

He laughed at how easily she had fallen for his plan, at how quickly her followers had deserted her when offered another path, at how she, who abhors Friendship above all else, must rely on others to accomplish her goals. But more than this, he laughed at how everything was going _Just as Planned..._

_KYAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!_ Chrysalis awoke in agony for but a second before the phantom pains of her broken curse faded into the depths of her subconscious. She took shuddering breaths as she recollected her thoughts and remembered where she was...and realized that she wasn't alone.

"Ooooohhhh..." Groaned Cozy Glow as she slowly recovered. She had evidently been standing too close to the Queen when she awakened, and was thrown across the room. The thought of how close she would have to be, and the possibilities of her intent for getting that close, quickly saw Chrysalis' fear replaced by rage.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN HERE YOU LITTLE PEST!?" The Changeling shouted as she rose from her bedsheets(just the sheets on the cave floor) and confronted the young Pegasus.

"Oh! I didn't mean to disturb you, but while you were busy having a nightmare, Grogar gave us a job to do." Cozy Glow explained.

_Two Hours Later, Unknown Forest_

"So let me get this straight. Grogar wants us to get his Bewitching Bell, from a barrier erected by Gusty the Great, that's powerful enough to keep him from getting it himself, and he thinks we can manage this by working together, is that correct?" Chrysalis asked.

"Yes, that is correct." Tirek answered dryly.

"Meanwhile, he is off doing something else entirely?" Chrysalis added.

"So it would seem." Tirek answered.

"...Okay, I woke up from a nightmare of being turned inside out again, what's your excuse?" Chrysalis demanded as Tirek's attitude played on her last nerve.

The centaur breathed a heavy sigh. "Are you aware of Grogar's...'other' allies?"

Chrysalis felt a tingle crawl up her spine as she remembered seeing something vaguely similar to the creatures she saw as she was cursed. "I...may know something."

"I don't know who or what they are, but I know that they are far more powerful than they let on." Tirek stated with a fearful shudder.

"Ooohh, are you still upset about that?" Cozy Glow chimed in with almost believable pity.

Chrysalis put it together. "You tried to steal magic from one of them and failed miserably, didn't you."

"I had him...he was helpless...I grew so large that my horns began to pierce the ceiling of the cave...that's when he grew bored and stopped pretending to be helpless, retracting the power I absorbed from him as if I only held him by the finger...His power rivaled an Alicorn's." Tirek lamented.

"I'm not surprised. I know little about them, less than I know of the Ruinous Powers, but I know that they are tied to the Powers in some manner." Chrysalis explained.

"To think that Grogar has such powerful allies... and we're on our way to make him even more powerful." Tirek said more to himself than the others.

"Maybe... or we could make _ourselves_ more powerful." Cozy Glow suggested.

"Hmph, that may be the first thing you've said that was worth listening to." Chrysalis said in agreement.

After a few more minutes of walking, the three villains came within sight of the snow covered mountain housing the Bewitching Bell.

"Scale the mountain..." recited Tirek, "...retrieve Grogar's bell..." Chrysalis continued, "...together." Cozy Glow concluded cheerfully as she pulled out a parchment.

"I've written a detailed plan with visual aids of how we can...ditch each other." Her cheerful voice died off when she realized that she had been left behind, her two associates moving in different directions.

Her frown quickly returned to a smile, though it was far more malevolent in appearance than the cheerful child's grin from moments prior. "When they're waiting for me at top, then they'll start to appreciate me."

_Chrysalis_

Chrysalis took the most direct approach, simply flying to the mountain. But the winds made such a thing incredibly difficult, and in time she found it to be impossible, forcing her to land.

Not long after she landed, she felt a shadow loom over her. She became amused at the thought of anything unrelated to Tzeentch being frightening to her and turned to snarl and hiss at her would-be predator.

As expected, the formless shadow fled for it's life. "Hah! As if anything in this forest could be as scary as I." Proclaimed Chrysalis.

...Don't...Tempt...Tzeentch.

The rustling of bushes drew Chrysalis' ire. _Not again, didn't they get the message the first ti-_ Chrysalis dodged just in time to lose some stray locks from her mane in place of her head.

Firing a blast of magic on instinct without even knowing what she was fighting, she was again taken by surprise when her enemy charged through the blast and tackled her to the ground. Throwing her hooves up was the only thing that kept her attacker from crushing her skull in it's drooling, blood soaked jaws.

At last, Chrysalis saw what she was fighting. A Dragon with glowing red eyes, teeth that bled from the gums, and an unmistakable triangle-like symbol carved into it's head. "Your blood..._FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!"_

_Tirek_

Tirek comes across a lake with a clear view of the mountain...and the hazardous winds that forced Chrysalis to the ground.

The Centaur scoops up some mud from the lake bed and flings it towards the mountain, only for the winds to send it back into his face.

After a brief sputtering fit, Tirek determines a direct approach to be pointless, and tries a different route.

_Cozy Glow_

Cozy Glow trekked up the mountain until she sighted a wooden cottage. _Perfect. Some conveniently placed moron that I can wrap around my hoof._

Just as she thought this, a pony came out of the cottage. But when Cozy Glow got a better look at him, she realized something was wrong with him.

His coat was brown with orange polka dots, bubbles came from his mouth every time he exhaled before they froze in the freezing mountain air, and were those...tree branches?

Cozy Glow's eyes widened as she realized that she was looking at a pony who was infected with the infamous Swamp Fever.

She started to back away, hoping to stay out of sight until she was far enough to run for it.

_SNAP!_

Cozy's eyes shrank to pinpricks as she turned to the sound, a stray dead plant beneath her hooves.

She slowly turned her gaze back to the sick pony, or rather...ponies.

Where once there was only one pony infected with Swamp Fever, there was now four, and they were all staring at the young filly with pleasant happy smiles.

"Uh...H-Hey there." Cozy said nervously, she didn't know why those smiles creeped her out so much, but what she really wanted to know was why ponies who were infected with a disease that would turn them into trees were happy to begin with.

Her confusion would turn to slight fear as the four ponies started to trot towards her.

Cozy Glow started backing up again. "W-wait a minute. Y-you do realize you're sick, right? Are you trying to get me sick too?"

Cozy Glow got her answer when the creepy ponies traded their trot for a full gallop. With a scream of terror, Cozy Glow turned and bolted.

_Chrysalis_

Chrysalis had been trying to force the Khornate Dragon off her through telekinesis, but the Dragon appeared to have some form of immunity to her magic.

Luckily, she finally managed to push the Dragon far enough off her that she could angle her horn and fire a beam of energy directly into it's chest.

The Dragon was sent flying ten feet, but was otherwise unharmed. Chrysalis quickly scrambled to her hooves and changed tactics.

A flash of bright green flames erupted around the Changeling and streched several meters into the sky before vanishing, revealing an Ursa Minor ready to brawl.

A normal Dragon would've thought twice about fighting something so much larger than itself, but this one was far from normal._BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! **DEATH FOR DEATH'S SAKE!!!**_

Chrysalis answered the battle cry with a bestial roar and charged into another melee.

_Tirek_

Tirek dropped the vines and large leaves he had been stringing into a hammock when he heard the unmistakable roar of an Ursa Minor.

It was a good ways off, but a roar like that meant it was attacking something. Tirek didn't really care that the most likely thing to have drawn the beast's anger/hunger was his associates so much as he cared about the likelihood of them running into him while the monster gave chase.

His fears settled down when the distant snarls didn't grow any closer, meaning that whatever it was attacking wasn't smart enough to run.

_Well, it certainly isn't Cozy Glow. It must be her royal majesty trying to make the Ursa bow down and worship the dirt on her hooves. Heh, just means I won't have her screaming keeping me awake all night anymore._ The Centaur thought to himself while he returned to his hammock.

_Cozy Glow_

Cozy Glow used her small wings to throw herself down the snowy mountain as fast and far as she safely could while dodging the occasional electrical sneeze of her pursuers.

Luckily, they were all Earth Ponies with no wings or magic beside the effects of the Swamp Fever they were determined to spread to Cozy Glow.

She had remembered what Chrysalis had told her about the Swamp Ponies that the Dark God Nurgle had sent to invade Ponyville, but Chrysalis said that they had all been defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

_Of course those lousy Do-Gooders would mess up like this, why couldn't they have failed to stop ME!?_ Cozy Glow mentally complained.

She glided down another segment of the mountain. She could see the end of the mountain now, but before she could land, she felt a burning pain flash through her left wing that sent her careening down into the snow.

She landed in a deep pile of snow that covered her from head to hoof, clenching her teeth through the paralyzing pain of her injured wing.

She didn't even recall that she was being pursued until she heard the hoofsteps of the Swamp Ponies closing in.

Cozy Glow froze, praying that the snow would keep her hidden from her pursuers. They surrounded the area, looking for any sign of her.

Cozy Glow eyed the forest just a short sprint from her location, but two of the four infected ponies were between her and safety, while another searched for hoofprints...and another was mere inches from her location.

The filly held her breath, uncaring for the freezing snow enveloping her, and shut her eyes. Hoping that it would all be a bad dream.

Eventually, the sounds of hooves falling on snow made her open her eyes again to find that the infected ponies had given up the chase and were going back to their shack.

When she was sure they were far enough away, Cozy Glow used the weather altering powers of the Pegasai to melt the snow around her.

Doing so left her face such a bright crimson, one would've thought that she was furious...but for the fear in her eyes.

_Chrysalis_

The Dragon dodged another swipe of Chrysalis' claws, flying into her guard and breathing Warp-fire onto her large chest.

Gritting her teeth through the pain, Chrysalis brought her large body down on top of the Dragon and smashed him into the ground beneath her weight.

The Dragon's scales absorbed the impact, a natural ability of their kind that protected them from fatal falls or rockslides, but Chrysalis didn't let up.

For the brief second that her opponent was stunned, Chrysalis rose up and crashed down again. Slamming her paws onto the Dragon this time.

She raked her claws against the Dragon's scaly hide as she rose up once more to repeat the attack.

She managed this two more times before the Dragon managed to blast one the assaulting Ursa's paws with a fire ball.

Reeling in pain, Chrysalis left herself open to a counterattack, and the Khornate Dragon capitalized.

Or rather, he would have. But the Dragon suddenly paused his attack mid-lunge, allowing Chrysalis to recover.

She recognized the look in his eyes, he heard something, something she couldn't hear.

Before the Changeling turned Ursa Minor had a chance to react, the Dragon flew off. Heading in the direction Chrysalis knew to house Grogar's Bell.

Chrysalis changed back to normal, keeping her left front hoof off the ground. It was far from her only injury, she was covered from horn to tail in numerous burns and claw marks, along with a single bite at the back of her neck.

Chrysalis wanted nothing more than to go after that Dragon and make him pay for the pain he had caused her, but the way he retreated told her something.

_Even if one of the Possessed had been far enough away from Ponyville to remain as they were, they should've attacked immediately instead of coming all the way out here._

_That Dragon must've heard the voice of a Daemon in it it's head, Chaos must be after Grogar's bell._ With this in mind, Chrysalis knew that she was no match for the Ruinous Powers on her own. One rogue Dragon, sure. But if it wasn't alone, if there were a group of them, she would need some assistance.

_Tirek_

Tirek had gotten comfortable in his hammock, and only more so after the Ursa Minor quieted down. Tirek wondered if he'd seen the last of his associates.

He received his answer when a bush started rustling. It wasn't coming from the direction of the Ursa Minor, so he wasn't entirely concerned, and his slight concern melted away when Cozy Glow came into view.

The filly was wide eyed with shock and shivering like a leaf. Numerous twigs and leaves were caught in her mane and tail, and her left wing looked like it had been struck by lightning.

Having spent more than half a year in Tartarus with the young Pegasus, there was only one predictable response. "BAH HAHAHAHAHAHAA!!" Tirek laughed while pointing at Cozy Glow.

The filly's shock instantly gave way to anger. "It's. Not. FUNNY TIREK!!"

"Didn't make it to the top? Surprise surprise." Tirek smirked.

"Hmph, you didn't make it to the top either." Cozy Glow countered with a smirk of her own.

"I didn't try to." Tirek pointed out, erasing the filly's smirk while maintaining his own.

"WHA-AAH!!" Cozy Glow had leapt into the air on instinct in an attempt to reach Tirek's height for a proper shouting match, only to be painfully reminded of her injured wing.

Tirek snorted in amusement as the filly landed on her backside. "It took me five minutes to deduce that Grogar was right. None of us could scale the mountain on our own. So rather than face the dangers myself, I let the two of you do it for me so I could take what you learned and use it to my advantage."

Cozy Glow glared at the centaur as she nursed her injured wing. "I put up with your 'I'm smarter than you' attitude in Tartarus, but I'm over it now."

"And I've had enough of you trying to manipulate me with that 'insincere syrupy sweetnes'. At least now we get to see the real you." Tirek stated.

This is _NOT_ THE REAL ME!! I AM _CUTE_ AND **LOVABLE!!!** Cozy Glow shouted at the top of her lungs, being careful not to flap her injured wing again.

Tirek scoffed. "No you're _not_.You're _annoying_ and you **snore**."

"I! DO! NOT! SNORE!" Cozy Glow shouted...her voice concealing the rustling of foliage.

Tirek responded by mock snoring like a lawn mower and pointing at Cozy Glow.

The filly once again adopted an air of arrogance. "At least I don't talk to my 'Gram Gram' in my sleep."

Tirek leapt from his hammock and almost stepped on the grounded Pegasus. "DON'T YOU DARE BRING GRAM GRAM INTO THIS!!!"

Before the filly could reply, a monstrous Ophiotaurus tears through the bush, roaring it's anger those who dared to invade it's territory.

Caught in such a perilous predicament, the two villains decided that the best course was to turn from the beast and point at each other. "THIS IS ALL _YOUR_ FAULT!!!"

**_Author's Note:_**

Yep, I'm back. Sorry that I've been away for so long, the thing is...rewriting canon events is one of my biggest pet peeves in story writing. It's why I started Vol. 1 after season 8, and kinda wish season 9 had already been a thing(or not...I'm still salty about the ending)

But no matter, I took a breather, I started another major project that I've been looking forward to (The Lion's Heresy With Ponies) and I've started proofreading Lost Loyalty as it's One Year Anniversary looms(which will be celebrated through the publishing of a full reboot of Chapter 6: Istvaan 3, since I've finally managed to read Galaxy if Flames)

Alright now about this chapter.

Frenemies is easily the best episode of Season 9, but it will not end the same way this time around.

Part two of this two parter is where it all goes wrong. The big bad is revealed, and Equestria will never truly recover from this invasion. (Vol. 1 was a builup with good guys, a buildup with bad guys, and a small fight in Ponyville. This Volume had it's buildup, and now it's gonna have an all out war)

Outside of that, you may have noticed that I gave a logical explanation for that scene where Cozy Glow's 'boiling temper' melted a pile of snow, as well as the numerous times Garble should've been crushed to death in Gauntlet of Fire.

Yeah, I decided that the less of mlp I associate with cartoon logic(outside of Pinkie) the easier it is to write a 40k crossover, but that's just me.

Alright, I ain't gonna give any dates for my next publish. The reason being that every time I do, something always comes up, but when I say I don't know when it'll happen...it has a habit of happening quickly.

Alright, that's everything. Leave a like and a comment, check out the Lion's Heresy(available on this site) and I'll see you next time.


	12. Chapter 12: With Frenemies Like These

**_With Frenemies Like These...Part 2_**

The Ophiotaurus hissed as it slithered closer to the two villains. Tirek prepared to fight while Cozy Glow prepared to run, but they and the Ophiotaurus all stopped when they heard a call.

That call was an injured female Ophiotaurus emerging from the foliage surrounding them. The male took _immediate_ interest.

Unfortunately, male Ophiotaurus are known to only feel affection for skin deep beauty, and the numerous burns and scratches adorning the female caused the male to see her as unsightly.

The Ophiotaurus hissed a very insulting warning. With a roll of her eyes, Chrysalis dropped the disguise and hissed her own warning.

The snake-bodied bull lunged at the Changeling. Chrysalis flew above it's attack and fired a beam of energy into it's back.

Rather than retreat, the beast turned and coiled inward before springing towards Chrysalis, whose injuries kept her from flying too high off the ground.

The Ophiotaurus managed to wrap it's serpentine body around the Changeling and bring her crashing into the ground, stunning her while it wraped itself around her twice more and began to squeeze.

Chrysalis could feel the air being forced from her lungs, but with a roar of defiance, she once again transformed into an Ursa Minor, freeing herself from her opponent's constrictive grasp.

The Ophiotaurus was wiser than to contend with Chrysalis as she was now, and chose to flee. But the Changeling wasn't interested in mercy, and slammed a paw on it's serpentine tail.

In a final act of defiance, the Ophiotaurus turned to strike with it's fangs, it's jaws opened wide...Chrysalis' jaws opened wider.

Cozy Glow, who had been watching the fight beside Tirek, hid her face between her hooves as a sickening crunch announced the monster's death.

Chrysalis changed back to normal and turned to the other two. "Thanks for the help." She said with a deadpanned exspression.

Cozy Glow looked back at her, and laid eys on the headless corpse as it spouted a splurt of blood. Causing her to turn green. "Hupm, ugh, so gross..."

Tirek was more composed. "So you were the Ursa Minor then? I thought it had eaten you. So what didthis?" The Centaur referred to the Changelings injuries.

"It would seem that I was not the only pawn of the Ruinous Powers that was out of range when the Elements of Harmony were brought to bare against the forces of Chaos. And _they_ are after Grogar's bell too." Chrysalis explained.

Cozy Glow's attention was torn away from the bleeding corpse in an instant. "Those Swamp Ponies almost got you too!?"

Chrysalis shifted her gaze to the young filly. "No, I was attacked by a Dragon in service to Khorne. And he was called away by...something. I believe it was another Daemon, but I'm not sure."

"Well, this is all _very_ fascinating. But I am feeling rather exhausted and would rather settle down for the night if nopony minds." Tirek interjected.

"WHAT!? BUT YOU DIDN'T _DO_ ANYTHING!! IF ANYPONY SHOULD BE TIRED IT'S _ME_!!!" Cozy Glow shouted.

"Oh please, do you have _any_ idea how hard I worked to set up this camp...that you're no doubt going to yourselves at home in." Tirek grumbled.

"GAH! CAN YOU BELIEVE HIM!?" Cozy Glow shouted at Chrysalis in the hopes of gathering an ally in her argument.

Chrysalis merely rolled her eyes and settled down herself. Cozy Glow gave a dramatic sigh and did the same.

_Some Time Later_

Chrysalis rotated the hunk of meat cut from the dead Ophiotaurus' tail that she was roasting over the fire. She would've preferred to have harvested the creature's Love, but she would make do.

"Do you _have_ to do that? That smell is gross." Cozy Glow complained.

"Well unlike you Ponies, I can't just shove a bush in my mouth and be satisfied. Do these fangs look like they belong to an herbivore?" Chrysalis shot back.

"Ponies do eat bushes. We eat hay, and fruit...and pastries, and candy...mmm, I haven't had candy in half a year." The filly was staring off into space now.

Chrysalis removed her dinner from the fire and stabbed it with her horn, satisfied with the temperature and the faint trickle of blood diluted with grease, she removed it and began to eat.

"Care to spare some of that?" Tirek asked.

"The corpse is right there." Chrysalis pointed her hoof towards the animal's body.

"Seriously, you too?" Cozy Glow.

"Oh relax, it's not like I'm putting you over the fire. Although Ponies taste _much_ better." Tirek said, licking his lips at thought while harvesting his own chunk of flesh.

Cozy Glow's eyes shrank to pinpoints. "You've...eaten..._Ponies_!?"

Tirek was about to make another remark when his eyes widened in remembrance before his good mood vanished. "Yes...that's why my brother Scorpan betrayed me actually. He was all about helping me steal power, but when he saw how I treated the Ponies I drained, it was too much for him."

"Your brother sounds as weak as Thorax." Chrysalis commented.

"Yes. I'm sure. I wonder, which one of these 'Dark Gods' would make them suffer the most?" Tirek asked the Changeling.

"Probably Slaanesh, though I don't know too much about them, not even Tzeentch." Chrysalis replied.

"Hmm, so which one would make Equestria a better place for us if they took over for that lousy tree." Cozy Glow asked.

"None of them." Chrysalis answered immediately. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would much rather see those lousy Ponies going about their sickening peaceful lives than let Equestria be taken by the Dark Gods."

_That_ got the other villains' attention. "WHAT!?"

"Think about it, while the Spirit of Harmony is a constant thorn in our side, it still leaves us alone and doesn't force the...ugh...'Magic of Friendship' down our throats. The Dark Gods are tyrants, if we don't devote ourselves to servitude, then they'll just torture us for their amusement. And you've seen what happens to you when you serve them." Chrysalis shuddered at the memory of her curse, as did the others.

"But, didn't Tzeentch do that because you failed him?" Cozy Glow asked the Changeling.

"Ha! I _failed_ to finish the summoning because I was attacked by _another_ servant of Chaos. And they punished me instead of him. Thinking back, they probably-no-_definitely_ would've stabbed me in the back when I was no longer useful to them." Chrysalis explained.

"And their servants are after Grogar's bell, we better make sure to get it before they do." Tirek stated.

Cozy Glow let out a tired yawn. "Yeah well, considering how dangerous that mountain's supposed to be, I think we have to save it until morning. Good night."

The other villains agreed, Tirek and Chrysalis finished their meals and used their magic to vaporize the Ophiotaurus' corpse, and settled down to sleep.

_The Next Morning_

The villainous trio returned to the wooden cottage where Cozy Glow had discovered the Swamp Ponies, only to find it abandoned.

The three villains found a trail of hoofprints...and claw prints from a Dragon.

The villains followed the trail across numerous hazardous terrains as they scaled the mountain. Chrysalis used her various transformations to clear these obstacles, Tirek used his raw power, and the two stronger villains took turns helping Cozy Glow.

The three came to the end of the mountain...only to find that their objective was on a different mountain that was separated from the one they stood on by a large gap that led down several thousand feet.

"Uh, does anypony have an idea how to get across?" Cozy Glow asked her associates.

"Hmm, I do believe I saw some vines on our way here." Tirek pointed out.

"I can make that distance if I do _this_." Chrysalis transformed into a massive Roc. Spreading her wings in a display of power before taking flight to prove her point.

Unfortunately, the wind proved itself superior to the giant raptor's wing beats. Chrysalis only managed to scrape her talons against the ledge before she was blown to where she started with such force that the other two had to dodge her massive form.

Chrysalis changed back and rubbed her aching head while the other two came up to her. "So much for _that_ approach." Tirek said.

"No no, that's perfect. She got close enough that if I were to ride in her talons, I could tie those vines you mentioned onto that rock over there." Cozy Glow pointed out a rock on the other side that was fused with the mountain.

The villains tried the filly's plan. Tirek leaving to gather the vines and swiftly returning. Cozy Glow tying the vines off on their end of the gap before Chrysalis transformed back into a Roc and took the filly in her talons across the ledge.

As she approached the point of losing to the wind, Chrysalis flung Cozy Glow onto the other ledge and turned back.

The filly tied off the vine, allowing her allies to join her...only one obstacle remained.

They heard their enemies long before they saw them. The Dragon that attacked Chrysalis and the Swamp Ponies that had attacked Cozy Glow were throwing Warpfire and Lightning Sneezes at a magical barrier that undoubtedly held Grogar's bell.

"That Dragon is mine." Chrysalis snarled.

"Fine, just make sure you _win_ this time." Tirek replied.

Chrysalis gave no response. She took to the sky and charged her enemy, who was too busy with the barrier to notice until Chrysalis shot him in the back with a blast of magic.

Wasting no time, the Changeling transformed into an Ursa Minor once more and slammed both front paws into the dazed Dragon, pinning him against the barrier.

The Swamp Ponies sought to attack the Changeling while her back was turned, but found themselves in the telekinetic grasp of Tirek, who proceeded to absorb their energy.

Tirek awaited a delicious magical meal...but what entered his body was Warp Energy.

The Centaur was smart enough to spit it out immediately, but the experience left him in a gagging fit that disrupted his telekinetic hold on the Swamp Ponies.

Two of the Plaguebearers sneezed lightning at Tirek to keep him stunned while the other two sprinted forward to bite him and spread their plague.

The two charging Ponies halted their advance when they started to get pelted by rocks and sticks.

"TAKE THAT!!" Shouted Cozy Glow as she scored a shot on one of the Ponies' heads. But her confidence died as she realized that the other two were coming after her now.

With a scream of fright, Cozy Glow took off running. The two she had pelted with sticks and stones made to chase after her as well, only to find themselves in Tirek's telekinetic grip.

The Centaur only hesitated long enough to growl at them before throwing the two Ponies off the mountain where they plummeted to their deaths.

Meanwhile Cozy Glow had ran a full circle around the battleground before being relieved by Chrysalis. The Changeling turned Ursa Minor leapt between the filly and her pursuers with the Khornate Dragon's head between her jaws.

Chrysalis allowed the head to drop from snarling mouth before letting out a thunderous roar. The Swamp Ponies, Nurglite to the core, charged her anyway.

Chrysalis knew better than to let one bite her. Luckily, they were close enough together that one swipe of her paw was all it took to send them both flying.

The Swamp Ponies landed hard. One hitting it's head on a rock, the other landing on a rock that pierced through it's body. The former stayed down, never to rise again. But the latter pulled itself from it's bloody landing and limped back towards the closest enemy: Cozy Glow.

The final Swamp Pony, which Cozy recognized as the first one she saw, sneezed lightning at the filly one final time before Tirek threw him off the mountain.

Cozy was too shocked by the fact that the creature was still alive to dodge the attack. Luckily, Chrysalis threw up an energy shield just in time.

The battle was won, but Chrysalis was still uneasy. "That can't be all of them. Something has to have been controlling them."

"Who cares? Let's just get the bell and get out of here." Tirek said.

"And how do you plan to get through that barrier? It's far too powerful for us to get through." Chrysalis pointed out, showing where she had crushed the Khornate Dragon against said barrier.

"Can you absorb it?" Cozy Glow asked Tirek.

"I can only absorb magic from _living_ beings." Tirek pointed out.

Cozy Glow pondered the situation with a hoof on her chin, before coming up with an idea. "Like her?" She directed Tirek's attention to Chrysalis.

Chrysalis caught on immediately and assumed a defensive stance. "Betrayal."

Cozy Glow held her hooves up. "Not betrayal, teamwork. If Tirek absorb's your energy, then he'll be strong enough to get through the barrier."

"And after?" Chrysalis inquired.

"He...gives it back?" Cozy Glow said unsure.

"I do?" Tirek mirrored her uncertainty.

Chrysalis had a number of concerns, but chose only to voice the greatest among them. "And what happens if the Daemon attacks us while I'm left defenseless?"

"What Daemon?" Said a newcomer's voice.

The voice drew the three villains attention to the cave, from which a being emerged from the barrier effortlessly, holding Grogar's bell in a telekinetic grip.

"I-it's one of _them_!" Tirek snarled as he channeled his magic.

Chrysalis knew exactly what he was talking about. Though she had only seen silhouettes, the shape was unmistakable. The beings she had summoned for Chaos, Grogar's mysterious allies, it was one of _them_.

The large bipedal being was dressed in robes and armor, wielding a bladed staff. His armor was black with a golden trim, and a crimson eye sat upon his heart.

The being looked around him. "Hmm, it would appear that the remaining fodder has been done away with. This world truly breeds pathetic creatures."

"Who are you?" Chrysalis said uncertain, her instincts screamed at her to attack...yet, they also told her to _run_.

"I am your replacement Alien. A servant of Tzeentch who came to succeed where you had failed." The Sorcerer declared.

"I failed _nothing_.Tzeentch _betrayed_ me." Chrysalis declared.

The Sorcerer seemed to scoff. "How does one betray a tool that has lost it's usefulness?"

That did it. Chrysalis' fight or flight instinct had come to an agreement. The verdict: fight!

With a howl of fury, Chrysalis threw a powerful blast of magic towards the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer attached Grogar's bell to his waist and brought his free hand up to meet the attack, deflecting it with contemptuous ease.

Tirek chose to join in the fight and send his own blast of energy towards the Sorcerer.

The Sorcerer brought the head of his staff up to intercept Tirek's attack, and then waved the staff in an arc in front of him. Sending out a shock wave that knocked the three villains back, and almost threw Cozy Glow off the mountain.

The filly scrambled to get her back hooves back on solid ground...and then quickly realized that the Sorcerer had Chrysalis by the throat and Tirek under his boot.

"Hmm hmm hmm, truly pathetic, you creatures of Equestria. Even if you long for the embrace of darkness, you are tainted by the corruption of...what is the word? Oh yes, _Friendship_. Hmm hmm hmm heh heh heh hah hah hah haa."

Chrysalis answered this insult by once again transforming into an Ursa Minor...only for the Sorcerer to change her back against her will and keep her from transforming again. "Wh-what?"

"Did you really thing you could defy the Gods? You, who cannot even control a hive of sheep minded insects?" The Sorcerer inquired.

Chrysalis tried to fire another blast at him, but it was intercepted...by Tirek.

The Centaur shook the Sorcerer off him as his power skyrocketed, allowing him to grow twice as large as he once was.

With no time to enjoy himself, Tirek got down to business. Firing a far more powerful blast of energy at the Sorcerer, who planted his staff into the ground to meet the attack.

The clash sent snow flying everywhere, cracks appeared in the ground, and the Sorcerer began to skid backwards.

Tirek began to strain and sweat. The Sorcerer grunted and snarled as his back foot touched a wall behind him.

Tirek's struggle became harder. Even with Chrysalis' power added to his own, he couldn't overpower the Chaos Sorcerer, and would soon be thrown back. The thought of losing made him scream in defiance, but it was in vain.

A slight jangle drew the Sorcerer's attention to his side...where he saw Cozy trying to take the bell from.

"NO!" The Sorcerer shouted as he reached a hand towards Cozy Glow...big mistake.

Tirek destroyed the Sorcerer's staff and pressed the attack. Driving the Sorcerer into the rocky mountain wall...and through it.

Tirek watched the Sorcerer fall through the clouds. After another second, he felt a brief itching in his gums, and wondered if that meant the powerful magic user had died.

He was pulled from the sight of the clouds by a slight movement in the pile of snow next to the hole in the wall.

"TAH DAH!" Cozy Glow shouted as she popped out of the snow with Grogar's bell in her hooves.

Tirek grinned at the sight of victory when a voice called out to him. "M-my magic..."

Tirek looked to Chrysalis expecting anger in her eyes, both only found fear and desperation.

The thought of ignoring her pleas and keeping her magic for himself crossed his mind, but thinking of how well they worked together in the fight made him ponder just how much more they could accomplish.

With a faint sigh, Tirek returned the Changeling's magic.

Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief as she stood up. "I didn't think you'd give it back."

"Neither did I." Tirek confessed. "But...working together...just seemed smarter than to continue fighting."

"When we helped each other, it...felt better somehow." Cozy Glow added.

"I haven't felt like this since I lost my hive. Having others who will be there for you is...pleasing." Chrysalis confessed.

"...All these years...taking power from Ponies..." Tirek continued their shared train of thought.

"When you use your power to help others..." Cozy Glow left it open.

"Yes, it feels-" Chrysalis stopped dead as the words of the Sorcerer echoed through her mind. _Even if you long for the embrace of darkness, you are tainted by the corruption of...what is the word? Oh yes,_ Friendship.

**_"NNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"_** Chrysalis shouted, startling the other two out of their thoughts.

"The Magic of Friendship may be preferable to Chaos, but only in the same sense that a common cold is preferable to the flu. It's still a disease that subjugates you and binds you to servitude. And I _refuse_ to serve." Chrysalis stated with absolute certainty.

"Same!" Cozy Glow said.

"Obviously." Tirek replied.

"So, back to keeping the bell for ourselves?" Cozy Glow questioned, to which the other two nodded.

_Grogar's Lair_

The three villains waited for Grogar's return with the bell safely hidden. In less then an hour after their own return, the Great Goat revealed himself.

"The bell?" Grogar held his hoof out.

Cozy Glow donned her most pitiful face. "W-we're sorry Lord Grogar, we just couldn'-" The filly's pleas were cut off when she and the other two were slammed to the ground by Grogar's magic.

"I was not speaking to you. Omegon?" Grogar asked someone behind the villains.

The jangle of a bell was accompanied by an all too familiar voice. "I've found it, My Lord."

The Sorcerer the villains had thought they had defeated stepped out from behind them with Grogar's bell in his hand.

The Sorcerer returned the bell to it's owner and, with a wave of his staff, transformed his black and gold armor and robes into blue and green armor. "Also, I'm Alpharius."

Grogar ignored the Alpha Legionnare...and the second one that appeared at his other side, and kept his eyes squarely on the three villains. "Did you honestly think I would be stupid enough to trust you at your word?"

Chrysalis snarled in defiance. "Did you thinkwewould be that stupid? You're no different than us, than Chaos, you just want Equestria for yourself, and for us to bow before you just like the Ponies."

"And you thought you could stop me? You'd have better luck enrolling Abaddon into Twilight's School." Grogar sneered.

"Don't worry, you'll get a second chance. But you'll be powerless until I see fit to trust you again...at least you know how to work together now." With that, Grogar pointed his bell towards the villains and rung it...nothing happened.

Grogar looked at the bell before trying again, starting to lose his composure as the bell refused to work. "ALPHARIUS!! IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE!!"

"You sent Omegon to watch over these three remember? What made you think I had it?" Alpharius asked with a sincere voice that made Cozy Glow jealous.

"STOP MESSING AROUND YOU FOOLS!! WHERE'S THE REAL BELL!?" Grogar shouted.

"We'll give you a hint My Lord." Omegon said.

Grogar made ready to voice his anger, when...

**_GONG!_**

Grogar turned to the sound just as he was struck by a black and gold energy wave that drained him of his power...and revealed his true form.

Discord hit the ground, weak and exhausted. The three villains gaped in shock before they and the Draconequus turned to the direction of the attack.

Standing on a very narrow ledge overlooking the group, Grogar's bell dangling from one of their fingers, was a tall lithe being clothed in bright vibrant colors, and wearing a horned mask.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS TALLIK!?" Discord shouted.

"It's nothing personal Discord Bringer, but I'm afraid your time amongst the Ponies of Equestria has made you soft." The Solitare stated.

"WHAT!? I KNOW YOU'RE A HARLEQUIN, BUT DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!!" Discord continued shouting.

"This is no laughing matter My Lord." Alpharius stated.

"The Ponies of Equestria must be forged in the fires of war. And while The Cabal was hesitant to let their next test be villains from their past, their faith in you was lost completely when they realized you had no intention of allowing them to face real danger." Omegon added.

"WELL WE CAN'T LET THEM DIE YOU IDIOTS!! THAT WOULD DEFEAT THE ENTIRE PURPOSE!!" Discord roared with rage.

"No. We can't let them _all_ die." Alpharius stated grimly.

"But when forging a blade, the slag must be done away with." Omegon continued.

"Which is why my troupe has picked out a weaker warband to be Equestria's forging fire." Tallik concluded.

"A _WARBAND!?_ OF WHAT!? ORKS!? CHAOS!?" Discord wasn't angry anymore. There was fear in his voice.

"No...my cousins." The Eldar said.

Discord's eyes shrank down to pinpoints and he said nothing more.

"I am sorry My Lord, but this is for the good of all. You know what's at stake." Alpharius said before he and Omegon teleported away while Tallik simply walked out while he owned the place.

"...No...NO!!!" Discord regained his senses and made to run. He had to warn them. He had to tell them what was coming.

Discord was halted in his tracks and dragged backwards by telekinesis. "And just where do you think you're going?" Came the very irate voice of Chrysalis.

**_Author's Note:_**

DUH DUH DUUUUH!!!! I have waited alooongtime to drop this bomb.

Okay, to clarify: Discord is a part of The Cabal: an empire built around manipulating events through the shadows that convinced the Alpha Legion to betray the Imperium as the only means to ensure the destruction of Chaos.

But Eldrad Ulthran, the Eldar's head honcho of that time, foresaw humanity's necessity in the destruction of Chaos, and fought an unseen war with the Cabal during the Horus Heresy that ended when, and this is the quote, Eldrad announced that The Cabal had been exterminated.

If an Eldar announces anything, forget the grain, take that with abrickof salt.

So what're they doing here, and why are Harlequins helping them? Well that's not for this chapter.

Speaking of this chapter...yeah, I wasnothappy with Discord's stupidity in Season 9, so I decided to soften it a bit, pardon the creative freedom.

And coming up next, Dark Eldar! Oh boy, Greenskin's gonna go off the deep end when he finds out that he's been bamboozled again.

And how is Discord going to get the word out? Will he get the word out? Is there anything he can do or say to convince Chrysalis and the others of the coming darkness? Find out next time.

Also: I am making headway on the next chapter of The Lion's Heresy, but it's going to be longer than the first chapter because it starts with Rarity's pov during the Unification Wars rather than Fulgrim landing on Chemos.

Alright, that's all I got. See you next time.


	13. Chapter 13: The Dark Eldar

**_Chapter 13: The Dark Eldar_**

"And just where do you think you're going?" Chrysalis snarled. She had been tricked. She did _not_ like being tricked.

"Did you really think you could make fools of us? I'm the one who outsmarted _you_ remember." Tirek added. He and Cozy Glow were looking forward to whatever Chrysalis had in store for him.

"Yo-You FOOLS!! LET ME GO!! I HAVE TO WARN THEM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!" Discord shouted on the verge of panic.

"Oh please, why would we ever let you do _that_?" Chrysalis inquired.

"BECAUSE THIS ENEMY IS WORSE THAN **_CHAOS!!!_**" Discord answered.

The trio of villains lost their anger immediately as a freezing chill crawled up their spines. "...wuh...what...?"

It wasn't true...in a manner of speaking, but while the Ruinous Powers were more dangerous, only the followers of Slaanesh were more _terrifying_. And thus, Discord spared no graphic detail regarding the coming threat.

_Equestria_

Far from the villains' cave, Twilight and her friends were listening to a most unusual tale of their own. "An den da glowin' Bony faded away, an dese free shadowy figaz came at me loike deze waz tryna spook me, AN OI KRUMPED'EM GOOD!! AHHAHAHAHAAA!!! MORK'S TEEF!!! OI AVEN'T FELT DIS GOOD IN...uh...um...I've _NEVAH_ FELT DIS GOOD!!! AHHAHAHAHAAA!!!"

Fluttershy couldn't stop smiling at Greenskin's newfound joy for living, but the others were quite concerned. "Three villains from our past?" Twilight asked more to herself than to Greenskin.

"Yeh. Dat'z roight. An don' worry about foighten dem again. I'll clobber em all boi meself." The Ork stated. Slamming the head of his battle ax into his pleather-clad chest.

Twilight couldn't shake her worries though, and was already mentally writing letters of warning to her fellow Alicorns and Aries.

As Twilight and the others bidded each other farewell. Aries was in Canterlot with Princess Luna...and over a dozen sleeping engineers, blacksmiths, and welders.

As Aries described the mechanics of gas operated firearms as he understood them, Luna fed the words into the ponies' dreams. Once finished, she brought Aries into the Dream Realm with her to oversee how the dreaming ponies envisioned such weapons, and how to build them.

Outside of these developments, Equestria enjoyed a normal, peaceful day. No less than thirteen songs were sung this day, and not a single monster attacked an Equestrian provence, be it village or city.

However...there is a dark nature to Equestria's peace. For Equestria and it's neighboring allies...are but one Continent upon a planet that has yet to be named, as it's inhabitants believe their single Continent to be the entirety of their world...except those that inhabit the Continent furthest from Equestria.

_Anthross_

The Continent of Anthross is home to a great many bipedal creatures. The Minotaurs of Taurus, The Werewolves of Lycone, but none are more frightening than those of Anthross' ruling country: The Empire of Caprio.

Caprio was one of two kingdoms of Anthropomorphic deer. The other, Cervis, had fought a desperate war against their neighbors for the sake of their freedom. For the bipedal deer of Caprio firmly believed that it was their right as the mightiest beings to rule over all.

The war had lasted a thousand years. While Equestria knew not but peace and the odd averted peril, Cervis had been slowly beaten and conquered.

The men were deemed weak and sentenced to death...but the women suffered a far darker fate. They were to breed stronger men to rule them, the heirs of the power mad monsters that conquered them.

Cervis fell to Caprio but a day after the defeat of Nightmare Moon 8 years ago. In the time since then, whilst the Moose and Roe Deer enjoyed the fruits of their conquest, the Caribou: most elite of the three races of Caprio, sought greater prizes.

8 years ago, Minotaur spies loyal to the ruler of Caprio set sail to various lands to discover new conquests awaiting their masters. Of the various races discovered by these spies, King Dainn of Caprio was only interested in one.

The 8 foot Caribou sat in his throne in full armor, resting his right hand on the pommel of his Greatsword: Willbreaker, and clenching his left into a fist as he snarled in anger.

_...The power to defy reality...WASTED ON THE WEAK!!!_ The king snarled, slamming his fist into the arm of his throne.

While the thought of such power being squandered infuriated him to no end, the thought of producing an heir to such power brought a very different emotion.

While it did nothing to calm Dainn's anger, the thought of breaking new women brought a cruel smile to his face. His smile endured even as the doors to his throne room parted to reveal his Advisor.

The Advisor was unperturbed by the manic look on his master's face. If anything, he was curious to know what vile thoughts produced such an expression...so he may wear it himself.

"My Lord, at long last our fleet is ready. Bearing enough storage space to bring a siege from across the world to the gates of cursed Canterlot... and return with beautiful bounty of fresh slaves." The Advisor announced with a bow to King Dainn.

The Caribou King's smile widened, parting his jaws as his tongue licked the growing drool from his teeth. "Prepare my army, we set sail for the bottom of the world. TO WIPE OUT WEAKNESS AT IT'S STRONGEST SOURCE!!!"

The order was met with sinister laughter and then the two Caribou went to make their preparations. For King Dainn, that meant paying one last visit to his harem.

The King walked the halls of his castle en route to his bed chambers, admiring the numerous trophies and portraits that adorned the walls, and bowing respectfully to the images of his ancestors. Thanking them for achieving all that he owned and paving the way for his own conquests that would be inherited by his greatest son.

The cruel King was torn from his musings by a great shaking of the castle. When the rumbling subsided, he could hear screams and shouts and noises that were completely alien to his ears. He immediately recognized the signs of an attack on his Kingdom.

Forgetting his harem for the time being, King Dainn sprinted down the halls and turned to exit his castle, only to be halted by an explosion behind him.

Something had torn through the walls of his castle, piercing through the hall and beyond before Dainn could even see it, but whatever it was left a group of the invaders behind.

The attacking forces moved so fast that King Dainn could hardly make them out as they charged him with blinding speed, some even appearing to run along the walls.

King Dainn did not allow shock to immobilize him however, he unsheathed Willbreaker and swung horizontally. The mighty greatsword cut a gash in the castle wall and parried a long knife from the closest attacker to the wall before coming across to behead the center attacker and cut a third's arm off.

King Dainn turned on his heel and spun, slashing out with Willbreaker while distancing himself from his more agile attackers. He knew he best advantage was his superior strength and reach...and the alloy that made up his sword and armor, known across Anthross as Caprian Steel...and to the wider galaxy as Adamantine.

King Dainn halted his fighting withdrawal and got the first real look at his attackers. Females, that was the first thing he noticed about his enemies, the second was that their clothes were even more revealing than that of his concubines. But the most unnerving thing he noticed about his feminine foes...was that they were all smiling.

King Dainn knew that smile, he had worn it many times himself, it was the smile of a tyrant preparing to crush the weak. Even the one who's arm he had severed wore a similar, albeit more manic, grin. No doubt already deciding how best to break the Caribou's will.

King Dainn snarled at their smiles...before returning one of his own. They wanted to show him that he was inferior, he would show _them_ just the opposite.

His attackers smiles widened, and they opened a hole in their ranks to let another, more elite, fighter introduce herself.

Dainn's smile windened as well. The female before him was everything he sought in a mate. Power Incarnate. She negated the single edged blades of her entourage for a far deadlier sword that unfurled into a bladed whip nearly 5 feet in length, and covered her breasts with the flayed faces of past victims.

The female warrior twirled her whip beside her as she walked, cutting gashes into the floor of King Dainn's halls. She was a savage in every sense of the word, and King Dainn couldn't wait to tame her.

The female brought her whip back into a sword and leapt. Her impossible agility allowing her to plant her feet onto the ceiling and launch herself at King Dainn.

The Caribou threw up his sword and spun backward, but his opponent still managed to land behind him. King Dainn slashed at her again, only for her to lash out and wrap her whip around Willbreaker.

The sound of footsteps told him the weaker warriors were joining the fray once more. Thinking fast, King Dainn used his strength to slam the flat end of his sword into the females' leader and throw her from his blade into the midst of her entourage, her whip still wrapped around his sword.

Two of the weaker enemies evaded their flung leader and pressed the attack. King Dainn cut down one, but the other, the one missing an arm, leapt over his head while he was between strikes and swung her blade at his neck.

The Caribou bent his knees to avoid the decapitating strike, costing him an antler, before swinging Willbreaker through the assailant's stomach and cutting her in half.

The King screamed in rage and pain as his lost antler caught up with him, but he hadn't the time to mend his wound. 4 attackers remained, and their speed made fleeing a death sentence. It was only the narrow halls that only his powerful sword could ignore that was keeping him alive.

"You've impressed me Mon'Keigh." Spoke the leader of King Dainn's assailants. "Kneel to me now, and I'll make you my personal pet."

"It is not I who will serve you, it is you who will bear my sons." King Dainn promised as he removed the whip and readied Willbreaker.

The remaining warriors scoffed, snorted and giggled at the Caribou's words before meeting him in battle once more.

_8 Minutes Later_

The sound of screaming blissfully filled her ears now that sounds of battle had been drowned out. A bliss she enjoyed until she felt the need to acknowledge her subordinate...she had been kneeling for quite a while, after all.

"Report sister." Spoke the Succubus leading the raiding party: Crimson Clawed Clarissa.

Clarissa was the epitome of feminine beauty within the Dark City. Tall for an Eldar, she could stand eye to eye with an unarmored Astartes, and only an Astartes had a chance of meeting her soul-shattering gaze.

The Succubus was dressed head to toe in varying shades of purple that swirled in maddening patterns modeled after the Warp, with the exception of her namesake: a pair of blood red Hydra Gauntlets.

"The city has fallen. Our losses were minimal." Clarissa's younger sister, a Wych named Belatrixx, reported.

"Excellent, have you found a new toy to play with?" Clarissa asked.

"Indeed sister, the King of this country is going to be such fun to torment into submission." Belatrixx replied with a delighted, almost childish giggle.

Clarissa and Belatrixx were true sisters by blood, but where most siblings among the Dark Eldar fought over power and authority, often killing each other, Belatrixx was more than happy to let her sister have run of their Cult and it's allies so long as she was allowed to torture and kill at her leisure. Meaning she always had first pick of the captives.

The younger sister bid the elder fairwell before returning to her chambers and her plaything, while Clarissa turned her gaze beyond Caprio. Thinking of all the new species that she would conquer and bring to the Dark City, giving no interest in the plots of the Harlequins that had led her to this world.

Her only thoughts were of the Continent that she would save for last, bearing a race of lesser beings more innocent and ignorant than any human or Ork or even Tau that had heard of.

_Equestria. I will teach you the laws of the galaxy...and the penalty of weakness._

**_Author's Note:_**

Words do not describe what this quarantine has put me through. I had only one month left in my trade school before I graduated, and that was in April.

My apologies for not posting anything in these trying months, but I just couldn't find the time or motivation to write fanfics. I was caught between chores, Netflix, and I finally found my laptop after it had been missing for _years_.(don't ask)

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about this chapter.

Poor poor Greenskin, he finally felt safe and the Dark Eldar returned. I'm still contemplating how to make him react when he finds out.

Aries may have started Equestria's next big military development, but it's a long way off before the prototypes are ready for testing, so don't expect an armed Equestrian Defense Force taking on the Drukhari.

King Dainn: easily the most hated OC of the Brony community. I have never read the original Fall of Equestria, but I have read numerous Crossovers and self inserts that involve tearing the Caribou apart, including one particularly funny One-shot starring the TTS version of an Eversor Assassin.

The names Caprio and Cervis come from Capreolinae and Cervidae. Which are two groups of Deer. (basically the difference between Canines and Lupines)

And yes, the Minotaur spy I mentioned is Iron Will. Rather or not if a reveal of his past will happen in the story remains to be seen. (Featuring all these characters is hard)

And now for our antagonists...I am not a Dark Eldar player, and I know next to nothing about them.

Luckily, I downloaded Battlescribe after purchasing my first Ork models to make something of a shopping list for my infant Army, and used that to get some idea of how this invasion looks(I chose a Succubus for a warlord because it's the only one I knew anything about.)

On another topic. I might be walking away from this site for awhile soon.(I will try to finish this Volume first) And it's not because of the quarantine or anything like that...I have stated on my bio that I am using fanfics to practice my writing abilities in preparation of trying my hand at original stories...and I think I'm ready to take a shot at it.

I've got an idea for a fantasy story, an idea for a sci-fi story...and two ideas for stories that I would love to see as manga and/or anime.

Well, that's all I got. If you haven't seen it yet, here's a video of my first models.

https/youtu.be/nzg17uFkIHg

Other than that, thank you, enjoy, and stay safe in our crazy maddening world.


	14. Chapter 14: The Lesser Evil

**_Chapter 14: The Lesser Evil_**

The three villains stared at Discord with empty eyes. Trying to come to terms with the horror they had heard of...and finding it impossible.

"Yeah, nice try Discord. I might've believed you if these Dark Eldar weren't so..._childishly_ grim." Cozy Glow rolled her eyes, causing Tirek to nod in agreement and Chrysalis to tighten her magic hold on Discord.

"Ghhk! Hitz...hitz the truth! Khhgh!" Discord forced out of his pinched throat as he dangled in the air.

"Oh, so we're just going let you go warn Twilight and her friends of this imminent threat and wait here...for them to capture us." Chrysalis remarked while tightening her grip even more.

"No...we'll...need your hel-akk!" Discord croaked out.

"Help you? No. However, if we ruled Equestria and these Dark Eldar were attacking _our_ kingdom, that's a different story." Chrysalis smiled at the Draconequus as she spoke her terms to the laughter of the other two villains.

"...Deal." The villains stopped laughing as they processed what Discord just said.

"Uh, did he just say 'deal'?" Asked Cozy Glow.

"The Dark Eldar target leadership first, in order to leave the populace vulnerable so they can pursue them at their leisure. So you have a deal, I'll convince the princesses to step down and let you rule Equestria, and if we survive you can keep it." Discord said.

Chrysalis fixed him with a deadpan stare. "And what if our first orders are to have you and your precious pony friends imprisoned?"

"...An execution would be better." Discord replied with a clear honest tone. There was no sarcasm, no mockery, he had meant it.

"...yo...you're serious, aren't you. They...they're real." Chrysalis couldn't keep the fear out of her voice as she replayed what Discord had told her of the Drukhari in her head.

She thought of the Dark City, of the various horrors that awaited her if she was taken alive.

She could survive in the Arenas, her ego refused to believe otherwise, but how many fights could she win before the enemy poisoned her food just enough to let her next opponent humiliate her for the crowd.

That was the best fate she could think of, the worst...was the Flesh Cults. The very thought of enduring such horror, being stripped of everything that made her who she was and serving the monsters responsible...it was like Friendship with more agony.

Discord had fallen from Chrysalis' grasp while she was in thought, yet he had made no move to escape, waiting to their answer. "...As if I'm going to protect Celestia from alien assassins when I can just take the throne after she and the others are gone."

Discord breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Tch, shut up. Now go tell Twilight and the others what's coming." Chrysalis ordered with a wave of her hoof.

Discord slithered out of sight, leaving the villains to their own devices. "So, what now?" Cozy Glow asked the group.

"Well, as convincing as Discord was, there is still the chance that he will inform the ponies of our location so that they can take care of us after the main threat has been dealt with." Chrysalis stated.

"In other words, we should start looking for a new hideout." Tirek stated.

"Ooh! I have an idea!" Cozy Glow shouted. "Why look for a new hideout, when we can steal one from somepony else?"

_Zecora's Home_

The Zebra Witch-Docter was stirred from taking stock of her potion ingredients by a most pungent oder. She determined that the stench was coming from outside just as there was a knock on her door.

Opening the door revealed Fluttershy...along with a strange ape-like creature that she identified as the source of the stench.

The creature was dressed head to toe in spiked pleather, beginning with a bandanna and ending with studded pleather boots. It held a Griffon battle ax in one hand, and it's face was covered in deep scars that didn't quite look like they had been earned in a fight.

Fluttershy cleared her throat. "Ahem, Zecora, this is my new friend Greenskin, I was hoping you might be able to help him with something."

Zecora could guess what she wanted help with. "Meeting new friends is always swell, though we can't say the same for meeting their smell."

Fluttershy gasped and blushed. "Oh, sorry about that. I have tried bathing him before, but it doesn't seem to work."

"No need to worry my friend, I'll brew a potion that will put his stench to an end." Zecora smiled as she turned to begin her work.

"Oh, thank you but...that's not what we needed help with." Fluttershy said.

Zecora was about to question her when the ape-like creature spoke up. "See, I had dis freeky dreem where da Spirit ov Armonee said dat free ov Ekwayztreeya'z old enemiez waz comin' back for annuver go. And I decided dat I was gonna krump'em good, but I didn't know dat dey waz Wierdboyz, but den Fluddashoy told me dat you'ze could make it where der Wierd Stuff wouldn't work on me, see?"

Zecora stared at the creature before looking to Fluttershy for some form of translation. "Do you have something that could protect Greenskin against magic?"

Zecora beamed. "Oh my friend, why didn't just you say so? I've had a charm for that since ages ago."

Fluttershy watched as the Zebra rummaged through her belongings for a moment before presenting her a tiki necklace. "This charm is called the Amulet of Might, it protects the wearer from magic in a fight. I entrust it to you: a champion of what's right."

Fluttershy took the Amulet. It glowed a fiery orange in her hooves, and she could feel a great warmth emanating from it.

"Here Greenskin. This'll protect you from magical attacks." Fluttershy said as she handed the Amulet to the Ork.

Greenskin donned the Amulet, and briefly glowed the same fiery orange as it's power enveloped him. "Woah, dat was ded'ard."

"Thank you so much Zecora. I don't know which of our old enemies are supposed to be coming back, but I do know that even Sweetie Belle could lift Greenskin off his feet with her magic. I was really worried he would get himself hurt...or worse." Fluttershy shivered at her own implication.

"There is no need to worry Fluttershy. With the power of the Amulet, your friend is unlikely to die. And now that I've ensured he will survive, perhaps I can remove his stench while my plants are still alive." Zecora all but pleaded.

_Outside Zecora's house_

"And you're sure we can get away with this?" Tirek spoke in a tone of voice that was certain of the opposite.

"Relax. Zecora is so far from Ponyville that nopony will even notice, so long as we keep her from getting away." Cozy Glow confirmed.

"And what if she happens to have visitors?" Chrysalis asked.

"Then we either wait for them to leave or we grab them too. If you're talking about after we move in, you can just impersonate Zecora and tell them to get lost." Cozy Glow explained.

"I. Am not. Rhyming." The Changeling stated as a fact.

The villains ended their bickering and dove into cover when the door to the Zebra's hut opened to reveal Fluttershy...and something else.

"What in Equestria is _that_?" Cozy Glow half whispered half shouted.

"Well, don't ask me. I've never seen a creature like that in all my life." Tirek stated.

"Be quiet. I think it hears us." Chrysalis hissed through her teeth.

The creature had turned into their direction, squinting hard at the foliage that concealed them. "Greenskin? Is something the matter?

The beast ignored Fluttershy and started to walk towards the concealed villains, holding a Griffon battle ax like a hatchet over his head to swing at anything that came at him.

Fluttershy watched him move closer and closer to the nearest bush, his ax raising a little higher with each step.

When he closed the distance, the Ork lunged forward and ripped the bush from the ground...revealing a small rabbit.

The rabbit wiggled it's nose as it looked the Ork in the eye, looking as cute and innocent as can be.

Fluttershy walked up to Greenskin and placed a calming hoof on him. "It's just a bunny Greenskin, it's not going to hurt you."

The Ork wasn't fooled. "You'ze look loike a bunny...you'ze actin' loik a bunny...but you'ze _smellz_ loike a buggy nid."

With that, Greenskin brought his ax down. Fluttershy dove for the endangered rabbit before she even realized what was happening...only to find herself held hostage by Chrysalis.

The Changeling Queen revealed herself and tried to counter the Ork's attack, only for Fluttershy to knock her to the side...allowing Chrysalis to hold her in her magic as she righted herself and stared down her new foe.

"There are not many who're capable of seeing through my disguises at a glance. I'm impressed." Chrysalis spoke with a smug grin.

"I'm guessin' dat yer one ov Ekwayztreeya'z old enemiez roight? I waz expektin free ov ya'ze." The Ork replied.

Chrysalis considered that Discord had betrayed them, but decided that if such were the case, then they wouldn't have sent Fluttershy alone. "Well, you're right about that."

Taking their cue, Cozy Glow and Tirek stepped out of hiding with the latter trying to absorb Greenskin's energy. Instead he just barely ducked in time to lose the tip of his left horn to the Ork's ax.

The two surprised villains scrambled to get at Chrysalis' side with Greenskin hot on their heels...only to stop short when the Changeling Queen dangled Fluttershy in front of him.

"Careful. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious friend, would you?" Chrysalis sneered.

The Ork sneered back. "You'ze fink I'm dat stoopid? Da minute I stop fightin' You'll just zogg'er anyway. Noice try 'orsefly, but I'm smarta dan dat by a lot an' sum morr."

The two other villains were stumped. They hadn't thought about killing the hostage anyway...but Chrysalis was focused on something else.

"...What did you just call me?" The Changeling hissed as a dark aura emanated from her.

This brought a smirk to the Ork's face. "Wut'z a matta? Ard ov hearin'..._'orsefly_?"

"...Hold this." Chrysalis snarled as she threw Fluttershy into Tirek with enough force to draw a grunt from the Centaur before he held the Pegasus and drained her essence.

While Greenskin did twitch at the sight, he had expected her to be dead by now, so he kept his smile. "Ha! Now you'ze finkin' like an Ork. Ere we go."

The Changeling and the Ork Boy threw themselves at each other with primal battle cries._GRAAAGH!!_ **_WAAAGH!!!_**

The two Warmongers struck hard, Chrysalis' magic infused horn clashing with Greenskin's ax. Chrysalis was stunned that the ordinary metal ax could parry her magical attack, and Greenskin was equally shocked to see what he could only believe was Waaagh! Energy empowering the Changeling's attack.

Of course, neither combatant revealed their shock to the other. Instead, they gritted their teeth and dug in. The clash was a stalemate...until Greenskin drew back his offhand and threw a Toof Tayka into the Changeling's mouth.

Chrysalis was sent sprawling across the grassy ground they fought upon. The Ork didn't wait for her to recover and charged straight towards her.

"Uh, should we help her?" Cozy Glow asked Tirek.

"Do you want to?" The Centaur replied.

The Ork closed in and swung to take the Changeling's head. Chrysalis took flight, losing strands of her main, and returned to earth in the form of a Manticore.

Roaring in fury, Chrysalis swiped a pawful of claws at her greenskinned foe. But the Ork swung his ax to parry the blow, chopping off two and a half toes.

Chrysalis roared in pain and thrusted her stinger at Greenskin, who threw up his offhand in defense.

The stinger pierced through the Ork's hand, injecting the venom over Greenskin's shoulder. The Ork barely registered it for his high pain tolerance, and responded by crushing the stinger in his palm.

Chrysalis gave a sharp yelp, as this translated to the Ork ripping out some of her tail-hairs, and lunged at the beastly alien to try and crush him under her superior weight.

Greenskin saw the telltale tensing of the Manticore's muscles and gave his own lunge. Landing under Chrysalis' backside while most of her weight was shifted to the front, allowing him to wriggle out from under her and, to the exiled Queen's unfiltered fury, climb onto her back.

Chrysalis bucked and flailed, trying everything she could think of to dislodge the Ork, but Greenskin had dug the thick pointed nails of his offhand into her hide and bitten into her. He wasn't letting go without a fight.

Chrysalis thought of changing back to her true form to loosen his grip, but that would leave her much smaller body in reach of his battle ax that could easily chop through her carapace. The only choice was to go bigger.

A flash of green fire found Greenskin trying to sink his teeth and nails into the scaly hide of a greed grown Dragon.

The Dragon's long neck reached over it's back to claim Greenskin, but the Ork swung it's ax into the open maw and slashed across the upper gum line.

Chrysalis roared in pain and brought a talon up to her stinging mouth. While she was distracted, Greenskin made his move.

The Ork climbed up the Dragon's back as fast as he could. He had been hoping to reach the base of it's neck, but Chrysalis recovered faster than that and channeled magic to mimic a Dragon's fire breath.

With no time to reach her neck, and little time to evade or counterattack, Greenskin leapt off the Dragon's back...and onto her left wing.

Greenskin landed on the dormant leathery appendage with a downward chop of his ax right into one of the finger-like wing bones.

Chrysalis roared in pain once more and flaired her wings, sending Greenskin flying. The Changeling quickly changed back to survey the damage to her wing, finding a long narrow gash.

A quick test flight had Chrysalis breathing a sigh of relief however, as it was no more damaging than the other holes in her wings.

Her relief turned to anger as the Ork's bellowing battle cry announced his return. Chrysalis was about to shapeshift once more...when a potion crashed over her head.

A similar potion struck Tirek, causing him to drop Fluttershy, who was herself struck by a potion that restored her life force.

A quick glance behind Tirek revealed Zecora, an additional potion being lightly tossed and caught in one of her hooves.

Chrysalis tried to transform, but found that she couldn't. She barely had enough time to register Tirek suffering a similar failure for his magic before Greenskin was upon her again.

With little means to fight back, Chrysalis took flight to avoid the battle ax swinging to and fro in an effort to chop her head off. Tirek and Cozy Glow were already running for it. And with little hope of winning the fight, Chrysalis flew after them.

The Ork gave chase for a few feet before realizing that the Changeling was too fast for him. "DAT'Z RIGHT 'ORSEFLY! YOU'ZE BETTA RUN!! YOUR EAD IZ MOINE!!!"

With his point made, Greenskin turned to Fluttershy, who was already rushing towards him in a tackling hug. "Oh thank goodness you're all right!! You're not hurt, are you?"

Greenskin patted the top of Fluttershy's head. "Nah. Dem Drukhari gitz numbed me ta pain a long toime ago...hmm, I wonda if I can put a spiky bit in ere."

Fluttershy realized he was talking about the gaping hole in his hand...and promptly turned as green as the Ork in question.

"I am glad that all is well, but the appearance of these villains is less than swell." Zecora states, bringing Fluttershy back to the present.

"Oh my! Zecora's right. We have to warn Twilight and the others immediately! Come on Greenskin." And with that Fluttershy gallops off, with Greenskin lumbering behind with a joyful skip in his step. After some mental debating, he decided that Chrysalis' skull would look the best if it were mounted to the bottom of his choppa.

**_Author's Note:_**

And there it is ladies and gentlemen. A new chapter is born.

In case anyone's forgotten, the fact that Greenskin was, for lack of a better term, 'raised' by the Dark Eldar makes this his first fight that wasn't rigged to embarrass him.

And now that he's finally feeling like an Ork...the bomb's gonna drop. The next chapter is Discord alerting Equestria to the immanent arrival of the Dark Eldar, followed by another OC race being butchered by Drukhari blades.

In unrelated news, my plastic Waaagh! is growing. I've placed an order for Warboss Grukk and his Nobz, and I'm expecting them tomorrow. I'll also be getting an Ork Codex by the last week of July/first week of August.

Now, about this chapter: I apologize to any Zecora fans who felt I didn't capture her essence, but it was my very first time writing rhymes.

If I include her homeland of Zebrica( which I probably will) I'm going to make rhyming a Witch-Doctor only thing.

That bit about the villains never having thought about killing the hostage anyway is me poking fun at that scene in the finale where they threaten to rip Spike's wings off unless Twilight surrenders...and then keep their word. (I know they did it for the age rating, but still)

If anyone's curious about the Toof Tayka, it's always been my headcanon that the only martial arts known to Orks is a punch designed by a Bad Moons Warboss to harvest teeth without breaking them.

That's...all I've got for this one. I'll see you all next time.


End file.
